A Year Away
by butwhystherumgone
Summary: What would happen if Hogwarts became part of a Cultural Exchange? At the end of the Trio’s fifth year, the school does just that. But is the exchange really what it seems? Or does Dumbledore have another motive for sending certain students away?
1. Prologue

It was just after dusk when young man suddenly appeared outside of the Shrieking Shack with a small pop. Not many people were in Hogsmeade at that time of day, so no one noticed his arrival. After a quick look around, he headed up towards the path that would lead him to Hogwarts. Walking down the trail, he reached back into his memory and replayed the events that had gotten him to this point. A little over one year earlier...

----------  
  
It was the end of dinner when Albus Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the staff table and cleared his throat. Every eye in the Great Hall turned to him; it wasn't often that the Headmaster spoke at the end of the meal. It usually meant that something of significant importance was going to happen, or already had happened for that matter.  
  
"I am pleased to announce that some of you in this room are going to have a once in a lifetime opportunity." Dumbledore paused. "Hogwarts has recently been accepted into the newly formed Magical Culture Exchange program."  
  
He paused as murmurs spread through the Great Hall.  
  
"For those of you who don't know what the Exchange program is, it is an opportunity for students to experience the magical culture at another school, in another country." The Headmaster went on, "Each house will be able to nominate one person to take part in this program. Unfortunately, you will only be able to pick a student from either the fifth or sixth year, however. I urge you to vote for the person you believe is most deserving. You will have until the leaving feast to put your vote into the boxes placed directly to the right of the staff table, the people who have been selected shall be announced at the end of the feast. That is all, you may now proceed to your common rooms to finish your... homework." He said, with a small twinkle in his eye.  
  
----------  
  
"So what exactly is this exchange thing anyway, Hermione?" Ron asked when the trio had settled themselves in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Hmm...?" Hermione was too engrossed in her Arithmacy book to hear him. "Oh, uh... well, whoever is chosen will go to another school in another country, and someone from that school will come here. They switch, or exchange places." She said, looking up, "My family hosted an exchange student from Brazil once, although she was a muggle of course, but I suppose that it is the same concept."  
  
"Well," Harry got up from his seat, "I know I'll be voting for you, Mione. You're definitely the most deserving, in fact, I think I'll put my vote in tomorrow morning at breakfa..." A yawn overtook him quite suddenly, "...st. I'm off to bed then."  
  
"But Harry, you haven't finished your Potions essay yet." Hermione said.  
  
Groaning, Harry away from the staircase leading to the dorm room he shared with the other fifth years. _I was almost there_, he thought as he caught a glimpse of the look on Hermione's face, _I was so close to the stairs..._ "Mione..." he whined, quit unlike a fifth-year Gryffindor, "I'll do it later, it's not due for a few more days anyway. Tell you what," He said quickly as he noticed her starting to look dangerously like an angry Molly Weasley, "I'll do it in the morning, alright?" Turning towards the stairs again, Harry practically running up them in attempt to get away from the angry witch.  
  
Opening the door to the dorm, Harry was relieved to see that no one else was there yet, specifically that Dean wasn't there. It had been a few weeks since Harry had walked in on Dean and a fourth year from Hufflepuff shagging. After the Hufflepuff had realized that he had not only been caught, but by Harry Potter, he had quickly gathered his clothes and rushed out of the room, his face as red as Ron's hair.

_Actually, I think it was redder, if that's even possible._ Harry mused. But then, he was sure that his face had been quite red that night too, especially when Dean decided that it was necessary to talk to him about it, mainly to make sure that Harry didn't go telling anyone that he was gay.  
  
Harry blushed again, remembering how uncomfortable he had been during that entire conversation. Getting undressed, he happened to see himself in the mirror out of the corner of his eye. Standing up, he walked over to it. _Yeah, right. The Boy-Who-Lived,_ he thought, looking at his muscles, or lack there of. _I don't even look like I could take on a house elf, much less Voldemort.  
_  
Angrily, he dressed and got into bed. After a few hours of berating himself for not exercising over the summer, Harry finally fell into a fitful sleep.  
  
----------  
  
Downstairs in the common room, Ron and Hermione watched their friend make his way up the stairs.  
  
Ron chuckled, looking at Hermione's slightly bewildered look, as if she was trying to figure out how Harry had managed to get out of doing his homework again.  
  
Throwing him a glare, which immediately shut him up, she went back to studying.  
  
"Harry's right," Ron suddenly said, startling the bushy-haired girl across from him out of her book. "You should be the one to go on the Exchange. You deserve it, for all you work and all."  
  
"You just want me gone so I won't be around to bug you both about getting your work done anymore," she said exasperatedly, scribbling something on her parchment. "Besides, I don't think I am the most deserving."  
  
"Well, who are you going to vote for then?"  
  
"Harry, of course."  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Hermione looked up at him, blinking. "What? You don't think he deserves it?"  
  
"No, of course he deserves it, but, do you think he really wants to? I mean, he didn't really seem too excited about it all."  
  
Looking at him as if he was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, Hermione closed her book and stood. "Really, Ron, think about it. He would get to go to a completely different country, somewhere where they might not even know about him and You-Know-Who, and yes, there are countries that don't know, Ron," she said in response to his doubtful look. "You don't think that Harry would want that? Honestly..." she huffed, picking up her books and parchment and heading towards her own dorm, turning back to Ron as she reached the stairs. "After all he's been through, I think he deserves it more that anyone else, and personally, I'm going to put my vote into the box at breakfast as well. And you'll do the same if you know what's good for you, Ronald Weasley!" she hissed at him as she rushed up the steps, leaving a startled Ron behind her.  
  
----------  
  
It was the final feast of the year, and the plate in front of him had just been wiped clean. Sighing, Harry leaned back in his seat to get a better view of the front table. Dumbledore would be announcing the four students who would be going on the Exchange soon, and everyone in the hall was looking expectantly at headmaster as he calmly took a sip from his goblet.  
  
Harry leaned towards Hermione as Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat, as unnecessary as it was, since everyone was already looking at him.  
  
"Good luck," He whispered smiling at her. "I know you got it."  
  
Hermione just smiled back and turned to face Dumbledore as Hagrid helped place the voting boxes onto the staff table.  
  
"I can see you're all excited, so I won't bore you with a long speech about how the four names I am about to read off are four people who are going to become part of a great experience." The mischievous twinkle was in his eyes again. Taking a sheet of paper out of the first box, a yellow one, Dumbledore explained, "Now, if your name is called, please come up to the table and stand in front of it until all four names have been announced." Looking at the paper again, Dumbledore tapped it with his wand.  
  
"Hannah Abbot!" the paper rang out, immediately followed by loud clapping and a bit of hollering from the Hufflepuff table. Reaching into the next box, a blue one, the Headmaster again tapped his wand to the paper, which called out Ravenclaw's choice "Terry Boot!" Next came a paper from the green box, Slytherin of course, which ended up being "Draco Malfoy!"  
  
"Surprise, surprise..." Ron muttered to Harry, who laughed quietly from across the table.  
  
Dumbledore reached into the red box, the only one left. Giving Hermione a knowing wink, Harry turned towards her as the last paper was tapped, ready to congratulate her._ Who wouldn't have voted for her, she's definitely earned it over the last few years._  
  
"Harry Potter!"  
  
Looking up at the front table, Harry wasn't sure if he'd heard right, but when he glanced back at his friends he knew he had from the smirk on Hermione's face.  
  
"Thanks for the vote Harry," she said, smiling innocently at him, "but I didn't really need it since everyone else voted for you." She giggled at the disorientated look in his eyes.  
  
"Go on mate, get up there." Ron pushed him off the seat.  
  
"Alright, everyone else, off to your common rooms." Dumbledore said when Harry finally reached the table. "You four," the Headmaster looked back down at them, "will follow me to determine where exactly it is that you will be going."  
  
----------  
  
Harry, Draco, Hannah and Terry followed the Headmaster into the same room that Harry remembered going into after his name had been drawn from the Goblet of Fire.  
  
"Well, now, let me be one of the first to congratulate you all. Down to business though," Dumbledore said, "we must figure out where you are going. This map," he explained, indicating to a large piece of parchment laid out on a table, "has been charmed to point out which school in the Exchange program is best for you. If you would all place your hands on the map... that's right, very good."  
  
Then Dumbledore mumbled a spell and tapped each of their hands with his wand. Suddenly, beads of light appeared and seemed to travel along the map, stopping at various spots on the paper. "Right then, we'll just see where you've been placed..." Dumbledore looked intently at the map in front of him. "Miss Abbot, you will be attending the Chinese Academy of the Magical Arts. Mr. Boot, you will go to the Brazilian Wizarding School. For Mr. Potter, the California Institute of Magical Teaching, and Mr. Malfoy, next year you will be enrolled in the Italian School of Magic." He read off, handing them each a packet of information to give to their guardians. "Congratulations again, and good luck to you all." Smiling, he waved them out of the door.

----------

Harry braced himself for the greeting he knew would be waiting for him. As he stepped through the swinging portrait, he realized that his housemates hadn't disappointed him; in fact, they had gone a little overboard.

A cloud of red and gold confetti exploded in his face as the entire Gryffindor common room suddenly burst into loud yells and clapping. Ron, and he assumed Ginny, had not only grabbed food from the kitchens, but had obviously also made a trip into Hogsmeade and had brought back about 40 cases of butterbeer and what looked like the entire stock of Honeyduke's.

Making his way over to the trio's favorite fireplace, where his two best friends were talking with Neville and Seamus, Harry tried to duck all the people who seemed bent on congratulating him. After muttering a few thank yous to some of them, he collapsed into the overstuffed chair next to Neville.

"So, mate, where are you going, then?" Ron asked him, turning away from a now perturbed-looking Hermione, who had apparently been in the middle of a sentence.

"The California Institute of Magical Teaching," Harry groaned. _California? Could I be going further away from everyone I know?_

"Well, that's great, Harry!" Hermione looked at him excitedly.

"Oh, no, not that look..."

"What in the world are you talking about, Ron?" Hermione glared at him.

"That look, the one you get when you're about to talk about how something is a great educational experience and completely sap all the fun out of it."

"I do not!" she heatedly replied. "But really, Harry, there will be so many things to see and do, not to mention all the different things they'll be teaching there. I mean..."

"And there she goes." Neville muttered to the other boys. "Well," he said a bit louder standing up, "I for one haven't finished packing yet." Stretching his arms, he looked over to his dorm mates. "Anyone else?"

"Yup."

"Oh yeah, I'm not done either."

"Ugh, I haven't even started."

A few moments later, Hermione looked up to find herself alone in front of the fireplace.

----------

After they had all finished packing, the boys decided to call it a night.

Judging by the snores coming from Neville's bed and the rythmic breathing from the others, none of them had too hard of a time getting to sleep. Except for Harry.

After lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Harry figured he wasn't going to get any sleep, so why not walk around a bit? _After all, this is the last time I'm going to see the castle for an entire year._ Grabbing his cloak and map from his newly-packed trunk, he headed out of the common room towards the Astronomy Tower.

At the entrance, he quickly made sure that no one was currently in the tower, and that no one else was coming towards him. Seeing that both Filch and Mrs. Norris were well on the other side of the castle, he slipped into the tower.

Harry liked coming up here. Sure, there were usually couples snogging in the shadows, but it was still nice to just sit and look out at the night sky. He especially used the tower as a place to think because, even with other people there, the vastness of the stars made it seem as if he was all alone with his thoughts.

It was those thoughts that made him miss the fact that someone else was coming up the stairs.

"Harry?" said a voice behind him.

Turning, he could just make out the person's fiery hair. "Hello Gin. What are you doing up here?"

"I don't know. Guess I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me either."

"You didn't have another vision did you?" she asked him, the worry apparent in her voice.

"No, nothing like that." Harry assurred her quickly, "I guess I'm just... anxious."

"Why? Is it about the exchange?" Seeing the raven haired boy nod, she continued, "I would think you would've jumped at this chance Harry. Don't you want to get away from all of this, from You-Know-Who for a little while?"

"That's the problem Ginny!" Harry said angrily, "If I leave, what's to stop him from attacking more and more while I'm gone, and I won't be here to..." He trailed off, not quite sure if he should tell her just yet.

"To what Harry?"

The look she was giving him made Harry realize that he wasn't getting out of this one so easily. _Damn Weasley stubborness._ Harry then told her all about the prophecy that Dumbledore had shown him two weeks before. "...but you can't tell anyone Gin. I haven't even said anything to Ron or Hermione yet, I probably shouldn't have told you either." He finished lamely.

"It's okay Harry. Honestly, you know you can tell me anything. And I promise I won't say a word to anyone else."

"Thanks Ginny." He gave her a small hug. "We should be getting back to the dorms now."

He wrapped the two of them in the invisibility cloak and, after checking the map again, they headed back to the common room.

----------

The Hogwarts Express pulled away as Molly Weasley rushed over to hold all of them into a suffocating hug. The last time she had seen them had been just after their battle in the Department of Mysteries.

"How are you all holding up?" Mrs. Weasley seemed about to cry as she looked pointedly at Harry.

"Mum," Ginny spoke up, taking her mother's arm and walking her towards the ministry car that was waiting for them, "we're okay, honestly." She looked over her shoulder in time to see Harry smiling at her gratefully. The two had already said their goodbyes on the train and had of course he had promised to write to her.

"Well, mate. Good luck in the states." Ron said as Hermione pulled Harry into tight hug reminiscent of the one they'd all just received from Mrs. Weasley. "Don't forget to keep in touch."

Hermione finally pulled away as Harry assured him that he would owl whenever he could. Fixing his glasses, he looked up to see Uncle Vernon standing as far away from the Weasley family as he could.

"Right, see you both in a year then." He mumbled, picking up his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Smiling as he passed the Weasleys, who had just been joined by Ron and Hermione, Harry immediately felt a pang of guilt.

The Trio, and Ginny, had decided not to tell the Weasleys, especially not Mrs. Weasley. He knew that they would have to be told eventually, but hopefully not until he was invited to the Burrow for the last half of the summer. By that time he would already be in the states, as Dumbledore had wanted all of them to arrive a few months before the school year started, just so that they could get acclimated to their new surroundings.

As he passed Uncle Vernon and opened the car door, Harry couldn't help but look back at his friends. Ron and Ginny shot him a quick smile and Hermione gave a small wave. _This is it. I'm about to leave the only friends I've ever had for an entire year. In a month I'll be headed for California; it seems like a world away._ Harry lifted his hand to return the wave, only to be rewarded by a piercing glare from his uncle. Getting into the back seat, Harry Potter shut the door and Uncle Vernon drove the car away from King's Cross.

----------

As the castle came into view, the young man smiled. _There it is, I'm finally home._ With a mischievous look in his green eyes, he walked towards the lake and selected a smooth, flat rock from the shore. He laughed out loud as the stone skipped across the water, causing the giant squid to pull itself out of the water and waved menacingly at him. Running a hand through his messy black hair, he picked up his trunk and jacket from the ground and continued his way up to the castle doors.


	2. The Return

A few months back, he had received a letter from Dumbledore asking him to be present at Hogwarts on September 1st. The letter had gone on to ask that he be sure to arrive just before the opening feast. They would be joining their houses after a short introduction.  
  
Honestly, he was a bit apprehensive about it.  
  
Opening the door to the back entrance of the same room he had been in only a year before, he quickly took in his surroundings. The room hadn't changed much. The occupants of the room, however, were surprisingly different. Three others had arrived before he had and seemed to have made themselves fairly comfortable.  
  
One chair was set in front of the roaring fire. Sprawled in it was a tall boy who had his long brown hair tied back. He seemed to have forgotten everyone else in the room as he twirled his wand between his fingers and stared into the flames.  
  
A girl with short black hair looked up from the only other chair in the room. She offered a quick smile before turning back to the thick novel in her lap. A small reading lamp and end table had also been conjured.  
  
The last occupant of the room was another young man, who had claimed one of the corners for himself. The teen wasn't sitting in a chair, or even on the plush carpet that covered the floor. Instead he stood leaning against the wall. His white blonde hair fell in his face and grey eyes continually swept the room. They stopped on the boy who had just walked through the door. After looking him up and down, a look of recognition crossed his face.  
  
"Good of you to finally join us, Potter." He said with a familiar smirk. "We were beginning to wonder when you would feel fit to grace us with your presence."  
  
The boy in front of the fire seemed to snap out of his trance as Harry set his trunk down by the door. He had already donned his jacket when he had walked into the entrance hall. He'd forgotten how cold the castle could get.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Malfoy." Harry had worked on keeping his anger in check over the last year. He knew Malfoy was just trying to get a rise out of him. Harry wasn't about to give him that satisfaction this early in the year. Seeing that there wasn't going to be a fight, whether verbal or physical, the boy in the chair turned back and began twirling again.  
  
The door opened again as Dumbledore stepped into the room. "Ah, Mr. Potter. I'm glad you made it."  
  
"Sorry I'm a bit late Professor," Harry said, pulling his wand from his jacket pocket, "My friends decided it was necessary to make my luggage explode just as I was leaving. It took me an extra hour to find and repack everything." He explained. Harry plopped himself down onto the giant red and silver striped bean-bag chair he had just conjured. The teen laughed a bit, remembering the look on Pete's face. He'd retaliated by turning his hair a bright purple and transfiguring his jeans and t-shirt into a tutu and leotard. His friend hadn't thought it was as funny as he had.  
  
"That's quite alright. We haven't been waiting for very long." Dumbledore gave him a warm smile, "Now, once the students are all seated and the first-years are sorted into their houses, Professor McGonagall will lead you into the Great Hall. You will then be re-introduced to your friends and classmates."  
  
Looking around the room to all of them, he smiled once more, "Well then, I must be getting back to the feast. Welcome back. All of you." The headmaster let himself out through the door that led into the hall. Harry caught a quick glimpse of the large room before the door closed again and noticed that students were already seated at the four house tables. It seemed Dumbledore had left just in time for the first-years to enter the hall.  
  
----------  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Hannah Abbott closed her book and stood. The Headmaster could be heard welcoming the students, just as he always did after the sorting. Her chair, table and lamp disappeared. Noticing that the boy by the fire hadn't taken the hint, she made his chair vanish as well.  
  
A startled Terry Boot suddenly found himself lying flat on his back on the floor, looking up at the laughing faces of Hannah and Harry. Draco smiled as well, but stayed where he was, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.  
  
Dumbledore was still talking to the mass of students in front of him. The four in the back room heard enough to be able to tell that he was in the middle of his speech about Filch and the Forbidden Forest.  
  
McGonagall entered the room, interrupting their thoughts. She set the Sorting Hat on a table that had appeared in the middle of the room. Harry noticed that Terry had picked himself up off the floor and Malfoy had finally ventured out of his corner.  
  
"Well now," McGonagall said briskly, giving them a rare tight-lipped smile, "it's good to see you all again." Clasping her hands behind her back, the Deputy Headmistress explained that they would be entering the hall one by one. They would then stand in front of the staff table facing their houses while the Headmaster said a short bit about them.  
  
Harry took a deep breath as McGonagall opened the door. He'd spent the majority of the last week, between packing and repacking, convincing himself that he was ready to come back. Now, with that door opening in front of him, he wasn't so sure. Unconsciously, he shifted into place behind Terry. Noticing afterwards that he had just inadvertently made himself the last one in line.  
  
All of them could hear the level of voices suddenly rise in volume as whispers wound through the crowd. Dumbledore had just announced that the students from the culture exchange had returned.  
  
Hannah was the first to walk into the hall, book in hand, and was greeted with applause and a few cheers and whistles as the Headmaster spoke about a few of the things she had done in China.  
  
Malfoy was next. He strode through the door, black robe flapping. Coming to a stop in front of the Slytherins, he crossed his arms and glared at the rest of the school defiantly. Draco was also greeted with enthusiasm, but far less than Hannah had been. The students at Hogwarts hadn't forgotten how he had always thrown snide remarks and insults at them. Harry even noticed that a few of the Slytherins didn't seem to appreciate his return.  
  
As Terry shuffled his way into the crowded room, Harry noticed how tired he looked. He wondered if the Ravenclaw was as nervous about this as he was. While Dumbledore read off the list of things he had done while in Brazil, Terry picked at the edge of his sleeve.  
  
Harry's name was called, and after taking another deep breath, he entered the Great Hall. Appearing confident, even if he didn't feel like it, he walked across to a spot in front of the Gryffindor table. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, oblivious to the whistles and hollers he was getting, while Dumbledore talked about his experience in the states. It was then that he realized that he had forgotten to wear robes and was instead dressed in black jeans, boots, his jacket and a red t-shirt with a silver dragon on it, one of his Quidditch shirts from California.  
  
Harry looked back up from his clothing as Dumbledore yet again welcomed them back and told them that they were allowed to join their houses. Immediately, people began shifting themselves so that there was an empty seat. Harry made his way over to Ron and Hermione. His two best friends were sitting across from Seamus, Neville and Dean. Harry was unaware of the many eyes following his path.  
  
As he walked towards his group of friends, he took the time to take in the changes they had all gone through.  
  
Ron had grown quite a bit, and looked like he would be well over six feet when he stood. He was at least an inch taller that Harry if not more. He'd also let his hair grow out to his collar, that combined with the muscle mass he'd gained through Quidditch, and Harry's best friend look quite unlike the kid he had been only a year before.  
  
Hermione had also changed. She had apparently discovered a spell or potion that had tamed her hair. It was now straight and hung down to the middle of her back. Harry smiled when he caught a glimpse of the Head Girl badge on her robes. The grin grew even wider when he noticed that his two best friends were holding hands.  
  
Wonder when that happened? It certainly took them long enough.  
  
Neville had also gotten taller and had filled out. He didn't even remotely seem like the same clumsy kid that repeatedly blew up his cauldron and tripped over his own robes. He looked stronger and more sure of himself.  
  
Dean didn't seem to have changed at all. At least not physically, he'd always been taller than his other dorm mates. But he did seem more confident. He wasn't even fazed when a Ravenclaw boy, who was clearly his boyfriend, leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. The Dean he remembered would have been completely embarrassed and probably would have run out of the hall.  
  
While Harry had been taking his time, Ron and Hermione had moved to make a spot for him between them. Sitting down, Ron clapped him on the back and Hermione gave him a crushing hug. Finally able to breathe again, he looked around at his other friends. Seamus was directly across from him and Neville and Dean were on either side. After a round of welcoming, Seamus immediately piped up.  
  
"So, shag any of those beach girls while you were there?" Asked the boisterous Irishman.  
  
Harry laughed, drawing a few more looks from the people around him. Seamus evidently hadn't changed a bit. "I think that's a topic for later." He tilted his head towards Hermione.  
  
"Ay, I gotcha mate."  
  
"Seamus, really. Is that necessary?" Hermione glared at him.  
  
"Tanned, blonde beach girls runnin' around in nothin' but bikinis? Yes Hermione, it is completely necessary."  
  
"Really, you boys," She huffed as the food appeared. "You need to grow up. Honestly, you're seventh years now, can't you all think about anything besides girls?"  
  
"Hey! I resent that very much Hermione." Dean pretended to be hurt. Harry chuckled. Dean wasn't a very good actor, and from the look on Hermione's face she wasn't buying it either.  
  
Feeling the anger radiating from his girlfriend, Ron broke the silence, "I for one am going to think of nothing but food for the next hour. Care to join me Mr. Potter?"  
  
Catching what his friend was trying to do, Harry smiled at him. "Gladly Mr. Weasley. Would you mind passing me the buns, if it's not too much trouble?"  
  
"Of course, of course, old chap. No trouble at all."  
  
"That is most gracious of you."  
  
"Think nothing of it. Miss Granger, if you could just pass the gravy please."  
  
"I say, I do believe Miss Granger is indisposed at the moment. She seems to have been overcome with a fit of the giggles."  
  
"Oh come off it you two!" Dean gasped, clutching his stomach. By now the rest of the group was laughing as well. Harry thought he even heard Neville snort into his goblet. The other tables shot them odd looks, which just made them all start again.  
  
"Good to have ya back 'arry!" Seamus threw a roll at him, which Harry caught deftly in his left hand.  
  
Taking a bite of the roll, he resumed looking around the hall, just taking the time to think about the differences. But more importantly to him, the similarities. Harry was grateful that not too much of Hogwarts or his friends had changed. It's good to be back. I have a feeling that this is going to be one interesting year.  
  
----------  
  
They had all trooped back to the common room together after the feast, trailing a bit behind the rest of the Gryffindor group. Except for Hermione of course. She had the duty of leading the new students on their first trip to the Gryffindor dorms. After giving the new password and directing the first years towards their dorms. The groups dispersed at the blink of an eye.  
  
The first years all huddled together, still standing in front of the portrait hole. The second years tried their best to scare them with stories of horrible goings-on in classes.  
  
Third and fourth year students were on one side of the room, talking and joking loudly. The fifth years weren't so animated. Harry heard many of them already groaning about the OWLs they would have to take.  
  
The other side of the large room was occupied by the sixth and seventh years, who were also laughing and chatting energetically.  
  
Harry set his trunk down next to an overstuffed chair. Since he hadn't been on the train, the house elves didn't bring it up with the rest of the luggage. Ron was telling the other boys about the Dynamic Duo's latest prank.  
  
"Ginny rigged up the twins' room with booby traps at the beginning of the break. So Fred and George have been trying to get her back for awhile. First they made her forget something so she'd have to go back inside. But mum decided to go with her to help her find whatever it was faster. You know mum, always thinking we're going to be late for everything." Ron stopped to take a breath. "Anyway, the twins had charmed the door to Ginny's room to pour paint all over her when she left holding whatever it was that she'd forgotten. Unfortunately for mum, she and Ginny were both in the doorway at the same time. They were covered in all different colors of paint." All the guys were laughing by now.  
  
"The best part was that the paint didn't come off! It was some new product the twins are working on. It stays on for a week or so and starts singing Muggle show tunes when you try to scrub it off. That's why Ginny isn't here yet. Mum made her stay home until Fred and George got back and gave them the potion to get it off. Mum's in for a shock though, 'cause I don't think they made one."  
  
"That's bloody brilliant." Dean wiped a tear from his eye, "Sometimes I wish those two were still at Hogwarts. It would certainly liven the place up a bit."  
  
"Well they've set up a shop in Hogsmeade, so we'll be able to buy some of their stuff when we go in a few weeks."  
  
The group went back to talking about everything they'd done over the summer. Harry, however, chose to just listen. He knew he'd have plenty of time to tell about everything that he had been doing the last year.  
  
In the end, it was nearly midnight before the group split up. Even then, Harry and Ron stayed up for awhile longer. Ron filled him in on what the rest of the Weasley family had been doing.  
  
According to Ron, Bill had asked for a transfer to the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts. He was now only going to Egypt when there was a particularly nasty curse that needed breaking. Charlie was still working in Romania and Percy hadn't spoken to the family since the blow up. Mr. Weasley had a bit of a hard time at work during the beginning of last year, but it seemed that more of the wizards at the Ministry were starting to see how incompetent Fudge was.  
  
"I'm going to bed. You coming Harry?" The red haired teen stretched, his arms were sore from his mother making him pack all of Hermione's, his sister's and his own luggage into the car. Who knew those two brought so much with them?  
  
"Yeah, I'll be up in a few minutes." Harry mumbled absently, "I'm just going to sit down here for a few minutes."  
  
"Alright then, see you in the morning. Oh, and Harry?"  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"I know everyone has already said it, but it's good to see you again, mate."  
  
"Thanks Ron. Night"  
  
"Night Harry. Don't stay down too long."  
  
Harry closed his eyes, listening to his friend make his way up the staircase.  
  
---------  
  
It was morning when he opened them again. Something was poking into the small of his back. Pull it out, he found that the object was actually his glasses, which were cracked and bent from his weight. Damn. Harry sat up, only to be greeted by Hermione's glare.  
  
"Come on Harry, if you don't move it we're going to be late for breakfast. Do you want me to fix those?"  
  
"No, I got it. How much time to I have?" He yawned.  
  
"About ten minutes."  
  
"Well then a shower is out of the question." He grumbled. He'd have to wait until after he ate to wash up. "Just gimme a second to change and use the loo and I'll be ready." Harry pulled himself off the couch and went into the bathroom, fixing his glasses as he walked. Splashing some water on his face to wake himself up, he ran a wet hand through his hair, trying to tame it somewhat.  
  
He'd tried growing it out, thinking that it would help him keep it under control if it was long enough to tie back, but that hadn't worked. Plus, long hair and the California heat hadn't agreed with each other. Instead he had opted for a cut that was only a bit shorter than his usual. Like Hermione, he'd also discovered something that made his hair at least stay where he wanted it to, if not completely under control. Although he figured she used a spell, while he had just let Elana talk him into using a Muggle product. I'll have to remember to send her an owl and ask her what the name of that was.  
  
No time for that though. He sighed, wiping his hand off on one of the towels. Looking down at his clothes, the same ones from yesterday, he realized that he hadn't brought any others in with him.  
  
Making a quick trip out to the common room, were he had left his trunk the night before, he assured Hermione that he would be done in just a moment and that they wouldn't be late. I think she might have been spending a little too much time with Mrs. Weasley.  
  
Back in the bathroom, Harry swapped his black jeans for a pair of khakis and his red and silver shirt for a dark blue one with the California Institute crest on the front and his name and house on the back.  
  
The shirt had been the Dragon's uniform during one of the school-wide competitions called MudFest. Harry smiled at the memory of the sack races and tug-of-war, all carried out on a massive field covered in literally tons of mud.1 The CI had many different inter-house challenges throughout the year, and not all magical. Slipping on his boots again, he rejoined Hermione who was now talking with Ron.  
  
"... can't put off your NEWT study time. I'm going to make up a timetable so that we'll keep up with all our work."  
  
"Hermione." Ron whined, exasperatedly, "We've only been here one day, classes haven't even started yet! I really don't think I'm in danger of getting behind just quite yet."  
  
"That's the attitude that is going to get you behind Ron."  
  
"Harry. Tell her we don't need any time tables or other schedules to keep up with our work."  
  
Finally noticing that Harry was ready, the Head Girl didn't wait for his answer, and instead immediately hopped up and dragged the two of them out of the common room and towards the Great Hall.  
  
----------  
  
Seamus let out a loud laugh as Ron quite literally fell through the portrait hole. "I've been waiting for ya to show up for the past ten minutes just so I could see yer face while you fell. It was worth the waitin' though." Seamus walked over to one of the fireplaces still laughing.  
  
"I hate it when he does that." Ron grumbled and lifted himself up off the floor before a group of rowdy third years trampled across the spot he'd just been lying in.  
  
"Does it often then?" Harry laughed at the look his friend shot him in response. "Oh c'mon Ron, it was pretty funny."  
  
"Excuse me, excuse me." Harry moved out of the way as Hermione pushed her way through the crowd. "Here are your schedules."  
  
"Urgh. I was hoping I wouldn't have to think about class until I got there tomorrow morning." Ron looked at the paper in his hands.  
  
Harry looked at his as well and grimaced, "Potions, DADA, History of Magic, Transfiguration and Charms with the Slytherins... what, is Dumbledore trying to get us to kill each other off?"  
  
"Of course not, he's just trying to strengthen the school by promoting inter-house relations that's all."  
  
"Then why don't we have more classes with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?"  
  
"Well, we don't usually have a problem with them now do we?"  
  
Harry shrugged, it seemed logical. He just wasn't looking forward to so many classes with the Slytherins. Although, it did seem as though there's a rift between some of them. He'd noticed that there had been a noticeable difference in the way many of the Slytherins were acting. Many of the older students were keeping away from the younger ones. That's something to look into. He slipped his schedule into his pocket and headed towards the showers.  
  
"Where you going Harry? Neville's starting a game of Exploding Snap, you want to join in?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yeah Harry. We could use another player."  
  
"Maybe later Neville, I didn't get a chance to take a shower this morning." He stopped to grab a few things from his trunk, which was still sitting next to the couch.  
  
----------  
  
Twenty minutes later, Harry walked back into the common room. There he was met with the sound of his friends laughing loudly. Walking over to them, he noticed that another had joined the group.  
  
Ginny stood up as she saw him coming, "Harry! It's great to see you!" She threw her arms around his neck, which was kind of difficult since she was a good deal shorter than him.  
  
"I see you got the paint out of your hair." He said as she pulled away.  
  
Ginny glared at him, "Yes. Fred and George hadn't made anything to take it off, so mum told them they had to figure it out fast if they wanted any food." She smiled as she sat back down next to Dean, "She didn't feed them for almost a day before they realized she was serious and got to work. After that it only took them a few hours."  
  
Harry smiled back at her and took the spot beside Ron.  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment. Harry had the feeling that they were all thinking about the reaming Fred and George got from Mrs. Weasley.  
  
"So, Harry," Neville broke the silence, "are you planning on restarting the DA?"  
  
"What? You guys didn't do it last year?" He asked, surprised at his friends.  
  
"Well, we all practiced a little..." Hermione started.  
  
"But we didn't hold actual meetings or anything." Ron finished for her.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"First of all, we didn't have anyway to contact all the members secretly, since you had the only galleon that could trigger all of the others." The Head Girl said matter-of-factly, "Second, none of us really knows how to teach this stuff. Plus, people are much more willing to learn from someone who's actually used the spells in a fight."  
  
"So 'ow 'bout it 'arry?" Seamus looked around at everyone else, "I can tell ya that we're goin' to need it 'fore the years out."  
  
"What makes you say that, Sea?" Dean asked him nervously.  
  
"I've 'eard rumors." Seamus leaned in conspiratorially. Everyone else did the same, it wasn't often that the Irishman was serious, but all of them knew to pay attention when he was. "People 'ave been sayin' that You-Know-Who..."  
  
"Voldemort, Seamus."  
  
"Right, 'im. Anyway, they've been sayin' that 'e might be plannin' more attacks. And not just 'round 'ere, but all over. France, Spain, Russia. Everywhere. People think 'e is tryin' to get more followers. There's even talk of an attack on 'ogwarts, but not until after a few more people 'ave joined 'im mind you. No, 'e wouldn't attack until 'e had enough people 'elpin' 'im."  
  
"Where did you hear all of this, Seamus?" Hermione asked, her voice wavering a bit.  
  
"I overheard me mum and da talkin' one night. Me mum 'as a friend who works in a pub in town, one that a lot of You-Know-Who's supporters go to. They aren't too concerned about a bartender listenin' in on their talk. At first me mum didn't believe 'er, but the same blokes kept comin' back and sayin' the same things. Then one of the attacks she 'eard 'em talkin' about actually 'appened."  
  
"That settles it then. I'll talk to Dumbledore and see if we can keep going with meetings."  
  
"It's not the Headmaster we should be worried about, Harry." Hermione said, looking up at her raven haired friend, "The Minister will oppose it, you know that."  
  
"Aww, I wouldn't worry about Fudge, mate. He's a pompous git and everyone knows it."  
  
"Ron!"  
  
"What? He's a bastard 'Mione."  
  
"Still, you shouldn't talk about the Minister of Magic like that."  
  
"Hermione..."  
  
Harry smiled as his two best friends began arguing again. Glancing around the group, he could tell that their fighting hadn't let up any since they'd gotten together.  
  
Neville rolled his eyes, "Honestly, would you two just go shag and get it over with!"  
  
The argument ceased as everyone looked over at the normally quiet boy, and promptly began laughing.  
  
"Neville, I never thought I'd ever hear you say something like that." Dean said after catching his breath.  
  
"Hey, it got them to stop, didn't it?"  
  
This just made Harry laugh louder, "I'm going to have to remember that Neville."  
  
"Well," Hermione huffed. She hadn't thought Neville's comment was very funny, "I'm going to bed."  
  
"Hermione!" Ron groaned, "It's only eight o'clock."  
  
"I know, but we have classes in the morning and I for one am planning on being awake for them. We do have NEWTs this year you know."  
  
Ron just looked at her like she had a hippogriff growing out of her head. "NEWTs aren't until the end of the term, you can't be studying already."  
  
Hermione ignored him as she picked up her books and headed upstairs.  
  
"I think her Head Girl status has made her resort back to the same mentality she had at the start of first year."  
  
"Well, let's just hope that we don't have to fight another troll to get her to loosen up." 


	3. An Unwelcome Welcoming Party

"C'mon Ron." Throwing his pillow at his friend's head, Harry yelled at the red haired boy in the bed next to him. "Wake up!"

Ron simply groaned, rolled over and tucked the offending pillow under his head.

"Alright then, suit yourself." Harry said as he walked through the door, "I'll be down eating breakfast..." He cut himself off as he heard the teen behind him suddenly sit up and fall out of bed in his haste.

----------

The first class of the day was Transfiguration. Everyone was anxious to get started; many of their older friends had talked about how they were starting Animagius training. Due to that little bit of information, all the students were waiting impatiently in their seats when McGonagall walked in.

"Pay attention." She barked at the already-quiet students. "As many of you may have heard, this year we will be beginning to explore Animagius transformations. I do not expect most of you to actually have the inborn ability to become Animagi."

Harry leaned forward in between Ron and Hermione. "Does McGonagall seem a bit agitated to you?"

"Mr. Potter." Harry looked up into his head of house's stern face. "10 points from Gryffindor. If you continue to try and talk over me in my own classroom, you will find yourself in the Headmaster's office. Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably."(1)

"No what was so important that you had to interrupt my class to say it?"

"I was just commenting on how lovely you look today."

"I do not believe that that is appropriate talk for the middle of class."

"Would it help if I changed my answer to 'I was saying how excited I am to start'?"

"No. It would not. You will not talk again in my classroom."

"Yes, ma'am." He mimed a salute.

A few people chuckled. Hermione gasped at Harry's audacity.

The rest of the class passed without incident.

Unfortunately, it was the cliché "call before the storm."

----------

Potions started out like any other Potions class Snape taught. Points off of any house other than Slytherin and a few insults about the incompetence of his students.

"The potions you will be brewing this year are both highly difficult and often highly dangerous. I expect that only a few of you posses the proficiency to prepare them correctly." Snape looked at Draco as he said this.

"The first potion you will be brewing is the Polyjuice potion. Who knows what the potion does? Mr. Malfoy?"

"The Polyjuice potion will cause the drinker to take on the appearance of someone else for one hour."

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy. 10 points to Slytherin."

He looked around the room and spotted Harry, who was slumped down in his seat playing with a paper football. "Mr. Potter! What are the six ingredients of the Polyjuice potion?"

Harry looked up at the professor and then looked down at his desk again. Not only had he helped Hermione make the potion in their second year, but he had actually brewed it himself last year. "Knotgrass, lacewing flies, fluxweed, leeches, powdered horn of bicorn and shredded boomslang skin. Then of course there's the seventh ingredient. A bit of the person the drinker is planning on turning into."

"Five points from Gryffindor for passing him the answers, Miss Granger." Snape sneered.

"Hermione didn't tell him that!" Ron burst out.

"10 points from Gryffindor for your outburst. Of course she did, there is no way Potter would have known that otherwise." Snape waved his wand and the directions for the potion appeared on the board. "As this particular potion takes one month to brew, you will start it today. If your potion is still up to scratch in a month, doubtable as that is," At this he looked down on Neville, who had somehow made it into the NEWT level class (no doubt with Hermione's help), "You will have the chance to test it out."

The class split into pairs. Ron moved next to Harry, but the green-eyed teen motioned for his friend to pair up with Hermione. Harry walked over to Neville's table.

"Hey Nev. Be my partner?"

"You sure about that Harry?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because I'm horrible at potions."

"Here, I'll let you in on a secret. I've already made this potion before, twice actually. Just do what I say and it'll turn out fine."

"Thanks Harry."

"Let's get started. Okay, you set up the cauldron and I'll go get the ingredients."

"Aye, Aye Captain!"

Between the two of them they managed to get through the class without any more incidents. There was one point where Neville almost knocked the cauldron off the desk with his elbow, but Harry wasn't the youngest seeker in a century for nothing. Seeing what was about to happen he quickly drew his wand and stopped the potion from splashing to the floor.

At the end of the period, Snape walked around to assess the class' progress. He, as usual, complimented the Slytherins and insulted the Gryffindors.

"It's a good thing you paired up with Miss Granger, Weasley. Your potion would undoubtedly be abysmal if you hadn't." Snape moved on to scrutinize Harry and Neville's potion. "Potter and Longbottom. Looks like you added too many leeches. Shame, your potion would have actually been up to scratch if you hadn't."

Harry looked at his least favourite teacher with a smirk on his face. "Actually, sir. With the addition of three leeches, the potion's effects can be extended an extra hour."

"In all my time studying potions, I have never once heard of this."

"Well then maybe you should study a little harder."

"Harry!" Hermione whispered in shock.

"20 points for your cheek, Potter."

----------

The Trio made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch after Potions.

"Harry, I cannot believe you said that to Professor Snape!" Hermione voice conveyed her disapproval.

"Yeah, mate. That was brilliant!" Ron obviously didn't share the same feelings as Hermione. "Did you see the look on his face when you said that? He looked like he was going to kill you!"

"Ron, really. Harry, you shouldn't talk to a professor like that."

Harry stopped in the middle of the entrance to the dining area. "With all he's done to us? The git deserved a little taste of his own medicine." He made his way towards the Gryffindor table again. "Besides, I can't exactly say that I'm scared of him. He can't hurt me, only Voldemort can, remember?"

Sitting down, Harry looked up at the head table. Snape was glaring at him. Harry smiled at the potions master and waved at him innocently.

"That man is going to look like a fool when my theory proves true." Harry turned to face Ron as his friends took the seat next to him.

"What theory?"

"The one about the leeches. About how if you add a few more it extends the time limit on the potion."

"How do you know it'll work out?" Hermione leaned across the table to listen to their conversation.

"Because I've already done it once before," Harry gave her a lopsided smile, "That's how."

----------

"I need to stop by the book store. There's a book I need for Arithmacy." Hermione told the boys as the strolled onto the grounds.

"Alright, but we've got to go see Fred and George's new shop. I haven't been in it yet." Ron threw his arm around her shoulder and hugged her close.

"And I will be going to Honeyduke's. I haven't had a Fizzing Wizzby for an entire year." Harry grinned at the way his friends were acting together.

It was two days before Halloween and the three of them were out on their first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The weather was a little bit of a downer, the Autumn wind pushed its way through their cloaks and chilled them.

"You have to remember to get new robes too, Harry." Ginny came up behind the group.

"Right, forgot about that. My professors aren't going to let me keep coming to class in jeans and t-shirts for very much longer."

"How about you head over to the robes shop, 'Mione and I'll go to the book store and we'll meet you at the Twins' in an hour and a half."

"Alright, I'll see you then." Harry waved and headed to the right and Ron and Hermione went left. He'd gone a few yards before he heard quick footsteps coming up behind him.

"Wait up, Harry!" Ginny leaned on his arm to catch her breathe. "You walk too fast."

"Sorry, Gin. I didn't know you were coming with. I would've slowed down." Harry looked down at her. "So, you're going to help me pick out some robes."

"That and mum didn't get the chance to buy me a cloak, so I wanted to look for one."

Harry held open the door to the robes shop as Ginny stepped through.

The girl behind the counter didn't even look up as the door shut. "Welcome to Madam Raybell's Robes & Cloaks. Feel free to look around. If you need any help, I'll be happy to assist you in any way I can." She sounded anything but happy to help as she turned the page of her Teen Witch Weekly magazine.

"Actually, if you could just point me to your black robes section?" Harry asked politely.

Sighing, she set down her magazine and started pointing before she looked up, "Over there... Oh, you're-you're Harry Potter." She came around the counter.

"Right over here?"

"Y-Yes sir."

"Thanks. I think my friend here wanted to look at cloaks, right Gin?"

Ginny was stifling a giggle. She nodded in agreement, "Right."

"Well, just come with me and we'll find you one then."

Harry flicked through the black robes on the rack, picking out a few different fabrics.

"Harry! Could you come here for a second?"

"What'd you need, Ginny?"

"I can't decide between these two." She held up two cloaks. One was a deep blue and the other was a silvery white.

"What happened to plain black."

"You don't like them?"

"That's not it. Either of them would look great, I was just wondering why you went straight to the colors."

"I don't know. Black just seemed really boring." She smiled at him. "So, which one do you think?"

Harry looked at the two cloaks. "Blue. Definitely the blue. It matches your eyes, plus, if you spill anything it won't be as noticeable as it would on the white."

"Okay, blue it is." She handed the clothing to the girl.

"I'll go ring this up for you. Did you find anything, Mr. Potter?"

"Err... yes. I have two fabrics I'd like to have robes made out of." He followed her and Ginny up to the counter and laid the two robes on the counter. Ginny was handing the girl her money.

"Alright." She picked up the heavier one. Harry planned to use those for colder days and days when he might get something on them. Days he had Potions, for instance. "How many of this?"

"Five of each should do it." He watched as she picked up the other too. It was made of a lighter fabric. It wouldn't do much to keep him warm, but it would be good for training. The lightness would be easier to move around quickly in.

The girl nodded and pulled out a tape measurer. "You'll need to take off your jumper, Mr. Potter." She looked a little embarrassed to be asking him that. "For accurate measurements."

"Of course." Harry pulled the charcoal shirt over his head. He had a white tank top on underneath.

"Harry Potter!" Ginny exclaimed, "What are you doing keeping that body away from the female public?" She hit his arm playfully.

Harry blushed. The girl at the counter was casting furtive glances at him. She waved her wand and the tape measurer went to work.

After a minute or two, it crumpled to the floor.

The girl came back around to the front of the counter again and picked it up off the floor. "I'll owl your order to you in a few days, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you." He and Ginny walked out the door and headed for the large "WWW" sign hanging over Fred and George's joke shop.

They never did make it to the shop. Harry suddenly felt cold. A woman screamed.

----------

Harry looked around for the woman who was screaming, but he couldn't see anyone.

He realized it was because she was in his head.

"Shit."

"What is it Harry?"

"Dementors." He was right, about forty of the wraith-like figures were making their way down the street.

He pulled his wand out of his back pocket. Ginny drew hers as well, ready to cast the Patronus spell.

Harry conjured a ballpoint pen and a sheet of paper.

"Harry? What are you doing?"

"Just hold on a sec Ginny."

He quickly wrote a short note on the paper, Ginny looked over his shoulder to see what he was writing.

_Alpha_

_Hogsmeade.  
__Dementors.  
__Bring The Pack._

_Phoenix_

"Dementors are attacking and you're writing a note?" Ginny looked at him like she thought he belonged in the St. Mungos Psych Ward.

He rolled his eyes and tapped the paper with his wand. He then turned to the Dementors.

"_Expecto Patronum!" _The silver stag erupted from his wand and galloped towards the Dementors. Ginny's eagle came right behind it.

Harry thought he saw Hermione's otter and Ron's lion as well. He was distracted though by ten loud cracks to his left.

Ten teenagers had just apparated in. The next moment ten Patroni joined the other four fighting off the Dementors.

Another crack came from the direction of the advancing Dementors. A Death Eater was standing in the midst of the wraith-like creatures.

Harry barely had time to register the arrival of the Death Eater before a screamed pierced the air. A young woman was trying to shield her infant son from a few of the Dementors that had split off from the crowd. Harry tried to signal for his Patronus to help, but he could tell it was too late. A Dementor swooped down and covered the woman's mouth with its own, sucking her soul from her. The wailing baby rolled from his mother's arms as she hit the ground. Immediately, the Dementor attempted to claim his soul as well, but Harry's Stag drove it back.

The Death Eater laughed and pointed his wand at the woman on the ground. Harry couldn't hear the spell that shot towards her, but saw its effects begin to work instantly. The Death Eater apparated out of the street, but Harry kept his gaze locked on the wall.

The orange light shot straight through her body and a red spot began to grow on the stone wall behind her. He realized with a jolt that it was blood. The liquid began forming shapes that eventually became letters.

His eyes blazed with a green fire as he read the words on the wall.

_Welcome back, Potter._

Harry's Patronus stayed by the baby, comforting it as the other apparitions made short work of the remaining black figures. When they were all gone, Harry walked over to pick up the baby. Looking around, he tried to find someone of authority that he could give the boy to.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find a shocked young man. Harry looked from the man to the baby and noticed a resemblance.

"I'm sorry." Harry couldn't think of anything else to say as he handed back the man his son.

The man's blue eyes clouded with tears as he held the crying infant and looked at his wife's body. Harry turned to walk away when he heard the man speak.

"Thank you, for what you did."

Harry turned back and looked down at the woman on the ground. His own voice sounded hollow when he spoke. "I should have done more."

The man shook his head, "You did what you could, Mr. Potter. That's all we can ask from you." He looked down at the now-sleeping boy in his arms. The infant had cried himself to exhaustion. "You saved my son. I could have lost the two most important people in my life today, but because of you, I still have one of them. Thank you, and... good luck." He walked away then, holding the baby close to his chest.

Harry stood in silence for a moment. Before he turned to walk back to where he'd left his friends, he conjured a white blanket and laid it over the woman. Looking up at the words written in the still-wet blood, he felt his anger boil up again.

Ron and Hermione pushed their way through the crowd towards Ginny and the other eight teens.

Harry walked up and punched the tallest boy in the chest. "Nice timing, Pete."

Pete rubbed his chest where Harry had hit him. "Good to see you too, jerk off. You know how much that hurt?"

"Stop being such a baby."

"You calling me a baby?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Asshole."

"Fuck face."

"Harry!" Hermione gasped.

Ron cut in, "Um, Hi. Harry, you want to introduce us?"

"Sorry. This is Ron, Hermione and Ginny." Harry then introduced the other eight.

The tall boy who'd he'd been talking, Pete, had very short brown hair and blue eyes. Eric had wavy, dirty-blonde hair that kept falling in front of his hazel eyes. He was almost as tall as Pete. A boy named Kage had long black hair and dark grey eyes. Andy had messy brown hair, brown eyes and was shorter and chubbier than any of the others. Chris had blonde hair, blue eyes and wore small, gold-framed glasses. And the last of the boys had green spiked hair and brown eyes. His name was Tanner.

The other four were girls. One, Elana, had curly dark brown hair and eyes and she was obviously of Spanish descent. She had a very exotic look about her. Trin had a short blonde pixie cut and violet eyes. Her real eye color was brown, but she had thought that was too boring. Jamie was also blonde, but her eyes were blue. She was also taller than any of the other girls. The last was named Laura. Her white blonde hair and light blue eyes reminded Ron of Malfoy.

"These, are my friends from California. The guys are more often known as The Pack, and the girls just tag along."

Elana gave him a death glare, "We do not 'just tag along'."

Ginny looked a little confused, "What's The Pack?"

The guys all looked at each other and Harry smiled. The girls just groaned.

"What's The Pack?" Pete asked as if it was the most obvious thing. "What's The Pack?" There was a bit of shuffling as the six boys rearranged themselves and lined up.

Tanner looked back, "Get over here, Harry."

Harry went over and pushed himself in between Tanner and Eric.

All five reached down and pulled up their right pant legs. Tattooed on the inside of each of their ankles was a black paw print. Above the print were the words THE PACK. Each of the guys had one letter in the name in red instead of black like the rest of the word.

"We're The Pack."

A light came on in Hermione's eyes. "Oh, I get it. The Pack. T-H-E P-A-C-K. Tanner, Harry, Eric, Pete, Andy, Chris and Kage."

Harry laughed. "See, I told you all she was the smart one."

Hermione looked a little embarrassed about that.

"Anyway, thanks for getting here so fast."

"Uh, mate..." Ron's eyes were locked on a point up the road.

"What?"

"We should probably go. Unless you want to be on the front page of the Evening Prophet. Again."

A flock of reporters were making their way towards the group.

"Let's go." The fourteen teens began running up the dirt road to the school.

----------

They'd managed to escape the reporter and make it up to the castle without being stopped. The group was resting against the wall inside the entrance hall.

"So, how long can you all stay?" Harry asked the Californians.

"I don't know." Laura picked herself up off the stone floor. "We were planning on going to a party tonight, but we could blow that off."

Eric smiled, "Some choice waves rolling' in tomorrow. Don't want to miss those. Why?"

"Do you want to stay the night? You could sleep in the common room." Harry pushed away from the wall. "There's a DA meeting later tonight and I can show you around the castle a little before you leave."

"Your Prin... Um, Headmaster won't mind?"

"No. McGonagall, our head of house, might. I wouldn't worry about it though. She'll probably be too preoccupied with the attack to even notice extra students."

The ten students from the California Institute shared a look and nodded to each other.

Pete answered for all of them. "No one'll miss us, so sure. Why not."

"Alright, let's get out of the hallway."

The walk there took longer than usual because the CI students kept getting distracted by the paintings. Their school was much more modern.

Eventually, they did arrive in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. "Flobberworm." Ginny gave the password.

The Californians looked confused until the painting swung open. The CI didn't use passwords either, each dorm was protected by a spell that recognized a member of its house. Chris was busy explaining this to Hermione.

Harry noticed Ron's jealous look. He moved next to the red head and whispered in his ear. "Don't worry about it, mate. Chris won't steal her from you."

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure. She's not his type."

"Who is?" Ron glanced at Ginny, hoping the guy wasn't going to go after his sister either.

"Don't worry, Ginny is not the Weasley he'd go for." Harry smirked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he'd ask you out before he asked her."

"Oh."

The two of them walked through the portrait hole into the common room. All the students third year and above were still coming up from Hogsmeade, which meant that the first and second years were running all over the place.

Ron groaned, "I hate being prefect."

"Yeah, but Hermione just loves being Head Girl." Their friend was busy telling off a few first years for setting off a dung bomb.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Trin was holding her nose.

"Dung bomb." Ginny answered.

"Eww."

Harry saw Ginny roll her eyes.

Trin had been pampered all her life. Her dad had made some big money selling 'Turn Back Time: The Miracle Cure for Aging. It's like magic!'. Trin's favorite hobby was spending her daddy's money as if the stores were going to close tomorrow.

They all made themselves comfortable in front of the fire. Well, all but Hermione. She was running after a second year who'd just pour a hair coloring potion over her friend's head.

It was only a few moments before the other Gryffindors began arriving. Harry could hear them all talking about the attack, he just hoped no one else had gotten hurt. A few people looked over at the group sitting down. Besides Harry, many recognized the Californians from the attack.

Neville and Dean came over with Lavender and Parvati and filled in the empty spots. Seamus strolled over a minute later. His pockets were bulging with what Harry suspected were quite a few bags from Honeyduke's.

_I never did get a chance to go there._

"So," Seamus started nonchalantly, eyeing the new people, "Who are our new friends?" He plopped down right in between Jamie and Elana, resting his arms on the back of the couch.

Harry went around the circle. "This is Laura, Tanner, Pete, Trin, Andy, Eric, Chris, Elana, Jamie and Kage. They're my friends from California. That's Neville, Dean, Parvati, Lavender and..."

"Me name's Seamus Finnegan." He said, extending his hand to Jamie. "An anythin' 'arry ever told yer about me is entirely false. I swear."

Jamie giggled, "I hope not everything was a lie."

Hermione joined them just then.

"Catch those hair-dyeing hooligans, 'Mione?"

"You bet she did. That's my Hermione. Keeping the hallways safe from crazy kids with dangerous potions."

"Would you two stop antagonizing me? Honestly, why did I ever become friends with you in the first place?"

"I believe it was because we saved your life, wasn't it Ron?"

"Yes, Harry. I seem to remember something about a troll..."

"Oh, come on. We'd better get to dinner."

Andy stood up, "I, for one, agree whole heartedly. Fighting evil always gives me an appetite."

"Breathing gives you an appetite." Elana got up and pushed the shorter boy back down onto the couch.

They all laughed and left the common room together.

----------

After an uneventful dinner, the large group made its way to the Room of Requirement. Harry had explained the situation to Dumbledore, who had of course welcomed the guests wholeheartedly.

"Ugh." Elena held her stomach, "The food was good, but I don't know if I could get used to Pumpkin juice every day. Give me a can of grapefruit soda any time." (2)

"Hey, Harry?" The group had stopped by the entrance to the room. Only, Chris couldn't see any door or anything. "Why are we just standing here? I thought we were going to some Room of Reckoning."

"The Room of Requirement, but close enough." Harry laughed and walked past the entrance three times.

Looks of wonder were back on the Californians' faces as the door appeared in front of them. Ron pushed open the door and walked through, everyone else close on his heels.

"Wow, this place has got everything you would ever need for defense training!" Pete exclaimed, examining a practice dummy.

"Aye," Seamus came up beside him, "It's almost like it's got everythin' ya... require."

"How did that door just appear out of nowhere?" Chris was examining the door.

"You just walk past it three times thinking of what you need and it's there. This room has been everything from a training room to a potions lab to a loo." Hermione explained.

"But that still doesn't explain how it just shows up. It's like..."

"Magic?" Everyone laughed.

People began filing in then. One thing Harry hadn't expected was the sheer number of people that showed up. He suspected that there were at least one hundred new members.

He closed the door after ten minutes and walked to the front of the room.

"First off, I'd like to thank you all for coming. Today will just give you a taste of what you'll be learning this year. Hermione will be passing around a piece of parchment for you to sign. Aside from giving us a list of members, the paper has been spelled to detect liars. The DA's goal is to prepare you for a potential future battle with Death Eaters and other supporters of Voldemort. If you are not truly here to learn how to do that, I suggest you leave now. Unless you still wish to sign the list and end up glowing a very bright orange for the next month."

A few people laughed, but most seemed to not be sure if he was joking or not. Harry was disappointed to see two of the five Slytherins in the room quietly get up and leave. No one moved after that, so Harry continued.

"Alright, while you're signing that, I'll just introduce a few people you should be familiar with." Harry motioned to some people to come up with him. "This is the Core group of the DA. Get to know them well."

"This is Ron Weasley. He's a seventh year Gryffindor and he'll be my guinea pig for most of the year. He can also help you out with your shield spells if you need it."

"Ginny Weasley, a sixth year Gryffindor can help you with hexes. I am warning you all now, do not make her angry. She is especially good at the especially painful Bat Bogey Hex."

"Neville Longbottom, another seventh year Gryffindor. His specialty lies in plants. However, he's not too bad at disarming and stunning spells. Particularly useful spells that you should most definitely learn as soon as possible."

"Seamus Finnegan, three-year-old trapped in a seventh year Gryffindor's body. Go to him for help with any advanced Transfiguration."

"Dean Thomas, seventh year Gryffindor. Useful guy if you need help on your more difficult curses."

"Luna Lovegood, sixth year Ravenclaw. Someone to go to for spells your opponent won't expect."

"Hannah Abbot, seventh year Hufflepuff. Go to her for help with the more advance defensive spells."

"Lastly is Hermione Granger, there at the back of the room, a seventh year Gryffindor as well. If you need something that requires research, look for her. She's memorized every book in the library. Careful though, she's Head Girl."

"We'll be splitting up so you can work with a new person every month. At the first meeting of each month we'll rotate the groups. Any questions?"

A first year Hufflepuff in the back raised his hand.

"Yes, you there."

"Um. You didn't introduce yourself. Who are you?" Most of the people in the room began laughing at him.

"Hey, hey. Quiet down. That's not a stupid question. I didn't even know who I was when I first got here." Harry scowled at the group. "My name is Harry Potter. I'm a seventh year Gryffindor and I'll be available for help on advanced offensive and defensive spells. If you really need to know more than that, you can ask pretty much any one in the room," He looked somewhat pained as he continued, "And, according to Hermione, you can look it up in the library as well. Any other questions? Good. Ron and I will show you a few of the spells that'll come up in meetings."

For the rest of the meeting, Harry and Ron shot off everything from a simple _Expelliarmus_ to the _Patronus_. Harry even shot of a few of the spells he'd learned in California.

"And that," Harry said, putting his wand into a pocket, "Is the basic curriculum for the year. I was hoping to be able to let you ask some questions, but there are only a few more minutes until curfew. I hope all of you come back next week. Same time, same day, same place. Thank you again for coming, have great night."

Harry watched the students file out, hoping he wouldn't see anyone glowing orange. No one did, so Harry put the parchment in his pocket to look at later. In five minutes, the last of the members had gone and only the group of Gryffindors and California students was left. They left and headed for the common room.

Once there, Hermione and Ginny took the four girls up to Hermione's room. The eleven guys went to the seventh year dorm room. When they got there they found six extra beds.

"How many people are in your year?" Kage asked.

"Only us five." Seamus launched himself onto his bed.

"Then what's with the extra beds?"

"Oh, that. The castle just sensed six extra people an added some more."

Chris gave him an odd look. "The castle sensed it?"

"Aye, doesn' yer school do things like that?"

"Uh, no."

"Weird. 'ey 'arry?"

"What, Sea?" Harry's voice was muffled by the shirt he was pulling over his head.

"Do I 'ave to tell 'em about the staircases, or can I just let 'em find out fer themselves?"

"Tell them. It can be kind of freaky if you don't know." Neville spoke up from across the room.

"Aw, yer no fun a' all, Nev."

Pete had been listening to the conversation quietly, which was not something he did often. "Okay, what's up with the stairs?

"Nothin'." Seamus said innocently.

Dean hit him in the arm, "Be nice." He turned to Pete. "The staircases move."

"They move?"

"Yeah, they change directions sometimes. They'll lead one way an then they'll just decide to go a different way. It's bloody annoyin' when yer 'eaded to class an ya end up on the other side of the castle."

"What other weird things go on at this place?"

Harry looked over at his extremely confused friends. "Oh, you know, the normal stuff. Secret passages, ghosts, doors that don't open unless you tickle them, or ask nicely, pranking poltergeist..."

Tanner pushed Harry onto the bed. "Okay, we get it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
[1] From Pirates of the Caribbean... I couldn't help it, sorry.  
[2] I think I'm addicted to grapefruit soda. The cheap stuff too, from Safeway. Yum... drinking a can right now.


	4. Death and Snoggage

When Harry woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see that the students from California gone.

"Harry?"

"What, Nev?"

"Where'd your friends go?"

"They're not here?"

"Nope."

"Wait, can they collapse their bodies an' get really flat?"

"Err... no. I don't think so, Seamus."

"Okay, do they 'ave the 'abit of sleepin' under their beds?"

"Noooo."

"Then they're definitely not 'ere."

"Something probably came up."

Dean stretched his arms and yawned. "Speaking of 'up'. We should probably get up."

Four boys groggily got out of their beds and moved to dress before they realized that Ron was still in bed.

Dean looked the still occupied bed. "I swear, if he didn't have to eat he probably wouldn't ever wake up."

All four of them went to each of their beds and grabbed a pillow. They stood around their sleeping dorm mate and raised the pillows. Harry yawned before beginning to count.

"One, two, three."

On three every pillow came crashing down onto the snoring boy.

"What the bloody hell was that for!?" Ron jumped out of bed and glared at them.

Seamus, Neville, Dean and Harry ignored him and resumed the task of getting dressed.

Ron was still fuming by the time they finished.

"Suck it up, Ron." Harry smiled at his friend. "You weren't getting up so we thought we'd help."

_Phoenix_

_Sorry we had to leave so fast._

_The alarm in my room tripped._

_Alpha_

Harry sat down on his bed to wait for his friend. It was then that he noticed a note floating above his headboard.

"That's the third time this week!"

"Well, we're a very helpful bunch of guys."

Ron mumbled something that sound suspiciously like "I'll help my foot up your arse."

After Ron had gotten dressed, they went down to the common room to wait for the girls.

Ron suddenly stopped in the middle of the staircase. "Hold up, where are those California guys?"

"They're gone."

"Thank you for the information, Harry."

"They left this morning. None of us were awake."

"That sucks."

"Sure, can we go eat now?"

Ron didn't even answer him. Instead he just pushed past them, grabbed Hermione and left the common room.

"Guess that's a yes."

----------

The day had passed by uneventfully. Snape took points off Gryffindor and criticized their potions. McGonagall was strict, even more so than usual. Hagrid had another dangerous animal for them to study. This time a Chimera. Trelawney predicted Harry's death. Twice.

Harry and Ron were staring at the ceiling when Hermione walked in for dinner.

She tried to see what they were looking at, but couldn't figure it out. "Okay, what's going on with you two?"

"Nothing." Ron picked up the potatoes and heaped a generous spoonful onto his plate.

"Nothing at all, Hermione." Harry took the bowl Ron was passing to him.

"Right." She watched them suspiciously for a moment before dishing up her own plate of food.

After another few minutes she spoke up again. "Are you guys sure nothing is going on?" She'd noticed that they were eating faster then they normally did.

"Nothing I can think of. Ron?"

"Nothing."

With that the two boys stood up and left the hall. Hermione stared after them. Something was definitely going on. There was food on Ron's plate. Ron never left uneaten food on his plate.

Later that night, Ron and Harry were huddled under the invisibility cloak. Harry pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He whispered. "Okay, we're here. And we need to get there." He studied the map to make sure that no one was in their path. Ron looked over his shoulder.

"We're going to run into Snape."

"No we're not. Look," Harry pointed at the dot labeled 'Severus Snape', "He's headed back to his rooms."

"You'd better be right. My mum will kill me if I get detention again."

"Don't worry so much." Harry started walking. "She wouldn't kill you. Just maim you."

"Very funny."

"Shh. Sprout is right down the hall."

"Where did she come from?"

"Looks like McGonagall's rooms." The stood still until the Herbology professor entered her own rooms. "Okay, let's go."

"Wonder what she was doing with McGonagall."

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the way McGonagall has been acting lately."

"Maybe. Can we go any faster?"

"I don't think so." Harry tugged at the cloak. "We are getting way too big to be under this together."

"You know, Hermione probably knows an invisibility spell. One of us could've used that instead." Ron pulled his side down so it would cover his feet.

"Yes, but then we would have had to tell her what we were doing. You know she wouldn't have let us if she knew."

"Good point. How much further."

"We just have to take the next right and we're there." The boys fell silent as they came upon a door. Harry looked at the map for the password.

"Marie."

"Marie? Why'd he choose that?"

"How should I know?"

They slipped into the room and crept quietly up to the bed. The man in it was staring up with both his eyes open.

Harry stuck an arm out from under the cloak and waved his hand in front the man's eyes. He didn't blink.

"That's really creepy."

"Shh."

Ron pulled out his wand and the boys stood over the man.

"Silencio Articulus Totalus." They whispered in unison. The man rolled over as the spell hit him.

"Okay, now the other one."

The figure next to the man twitched.

Harry and Ron silently moved out of the room and shut the door. As quickly as they could, they made their way back to their dorm. They only stopped once when Vector passed by on her patrol.

Ron threw the cloak off and slumped onto his bed. "That was bloody brilliant! I can't wait for tomorrow morning."

Harry laughed, "Let's get to bed. We don't want to be too tired in the morning or everyone will know it was us."

---------

The next morning was the first time in seven years that Ron actually got up before any of the other boys.

"C'mon Harry, wake up. I want to get downstairs."

"What are you so excited about, Ron?" Neville yawned.

"Nothing, I'm just... hungry." He turned back to his raven haired friend. "Harry! Get up! Let's go!"

"I'm getting up."

"I'll be downstairs." Ron walked out the door. "I'm leaving in five minutes!"

"No you're not. You can't finish it without me!" Harry yelled after him. He noticed the other guys were looking at him strangely. "You'll see soon." He quickly donned a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt.

Harry took the stairs two at a time, pulling on his shirt as he went. "Okay, Ron. I'm ready."

"Where are you two going?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Down to breakfast."

"Now?"

"It's never too early to start breakfast."

"It is the most important meal of the day, you know." Hermione's eyes narrowed.

Harry smacked Ron in the head. "We'll be going now. C'mon, Ron."

They rushed out of the common room and headed for the Great Hall.

Hermione looked over at Ginny. "Those two are up to something. I know it."

"Of course they are. They have to catch up on a year's worth of friendship." Seeing the worried look on her friend's face, she continued. "I'm sure it's nothing too bad."

"I suppose." Hermione went picked up her book.

The Head Girl closed the Arithmacy book and stood up. "That's it. I've got to head down there and see what they're up to."

Ginny laughed, "I'll go with you. I'm getting hungry anyway. Neville, Seamus, are you coming?"

"Sure."

"Where's Dean?"

"I think 'e spent the night in Ravenclaw. 'e wasn't in the dorm this mornin' an I don't remember 'im comin' up last night. Do you, Nev?"

"Nope. But I fell asleep pretty early yesterday. I didn't even see Harry and Ron come up."

"Come ter think of it. I didn't either. What d'ya think those two are up ter?"

"I don't know. Let's just get down to breakfast."

"Agreed, I'm starvin'. Let's go, mate. Girls, you comin'?"

"We're the ones who asked you, Seamus."

"Whatever, let's just go to breakfast."

It ended up that getting into the Great Hall was easier said then done.

"What's going on?" Hermione strained to see over the growing crowd.

Ginny shot a look at two boys standing innocently against the wall. "Three words, Hermione." She pointed, "Ron and Harry."

Harry noticed her watching them and waved to her. Both girls came over to were they were standing, the boys stayed to see what was happening. "Hello ladies. Fancy seeing you here."

"Don't give me that, Harry Potter." Hermione crossed her arms.

"Me thinks the lady is perturbed, Ronald."

"And me thinks you two had something to do with this." Her hands were on her hips now.

Ron looked shocked. "Us? Why would we want to keep people away from breakfast?"

"Um... you two better work on that innocent act." Ginny was looking down the hall. "Here comes Filch."

"Perfect." The girls exchanged a curious look at the mischievous tone they heard in Harry's voice.

"Just perfect." Ron agreed.

"Let's get a closer look." The boys pushed their way up to the front of the crowd as Filch arrived.

"Peeves!" The caretaker yelled.

Or, attempted to yell.

Filch tried clearing his throat and yelling at the poltergeist again, but no sound came out. Mrs. Norris was meowing noiselessly at his feet.

By this time, everyone who could see what was happening was laughing.

Hermione glared at the boys between giggles. "I can't believe you two did that."

"How did you pull it off?" Ginny was holding her stomach. Filch tried yelling at Peeves again.

"Harry and I will never reveal our secret."

Hermione stopped laughing as Filch stalked off down the hall with his cat on his heels.

"Don't you think you should take off whatever spell you put on him? You know he can't do it himself."

"Naw, one of the other teachers will help him. Let's eat."

----------

The next day, Halloween passed by uneventfully. Until dinner. Dumbledore had gotten the Weird Sisters to perform again and the hall was decorated with the usual giant pumpkins.

"Man am I glad to be back at Hogwarts for Halloween."

Ron grabbed two pieces of pumpkin pie. "Didn't you celebrate Halloween in California?"

"Well, yeah. But not like this. We just had the day off of classes and were allowed to go into the city if we wanted."

"That's sounds like it'd be fun."

"It was. But it just didn't really seem like Halloween."

"Arf hoo koimeg du owr hawes tho thresmos?" Ron's mouth was full.

"Ah fund muw. Arf hoo thaint ud fuh Daroo?" Harry had just stuffed his mouth too.

"Ah fint tho."

"Hoo thire ui hun wath mu?"

"Arf hoo thoomet? Uff caths fee wath hoo. Feet hel mu am Thiney ith hoo thenith."

"Ah theet falink hoo dap feet unee durk hoo thivary. Fopiby thoot hoo em Thint Pimnos thur uh heep, thut funthig terse."

Ginny leaned over to Hermione and whispered in her ear. "Did you catch any of that?"

"Ron asked if Harry was coming to your house for Christmas. Harry asked if it was at the Burrow and Ron answered that he thought so. Harry asked if he was sure your mum wanted him to come. Ron said are you stupid of course she wants you she'd kill me and Ginny if you didn't. And then Harry said that he keeps telling Ron that your mum would only hurt him severely and possibly put him in St. Mungos for a week but nothing worse."

"How do you do that?"

"I would have thought you'd know how to at least decipher Ron by now."

"Mum yells at him if he talks with his mouth full, so he doesn't usually do it at home. Besides, I don't listen to him during meals unless he talks directly to me."

"Well, after seven years of listening to those two and dealing with their bad table manners I either had to ignore them completely or figure out what they were saying. I think I'm kind of stuck with them, so I just learned a new language."

"Ah fin feir pamen thume uff oth, Yon."

"Yil taps thut fuly vithe."

"We weren't making fun of you. We were just talking about Christmas at the Burrow."

Harry swallowed. "Sure you were."

McGonagall rushed into the room and whispered something in the Headmaster's ear. A troubled look crossed the old man's face.

"I wonder what's going on." The four Gryffindors weren't the only ones watching the interaction.

Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands for attention. "I am sorry to interrupt your dinner. However, you will have to complete your meals in you common rooms. Prefects, if you would please lead your houses back to your dorms. Food will be waiting for you when you get there." He stepped down from the head table and motioned for the professors to follow him. The Headmaster caught Harry's eye from across the room.

"Something's wrong."

"Well of course it is. Dumbledore wouldn't cancel Halloween dinner if everything was alright."

"No, Hermione. I mean really wrong. Voldemort kind of wrong."

"Did your scar hurt?"

"No, I haven't had those kinds of visions since I started occlumency training again."

"Then how do you know it was him, mate?"

"Did you see the look on Dumbledore's face? Voldemort is the only thing that makes him that distressed."

"Well, we can't do anything about it here." Hermione stood and they made their way to the front of the Gryffindor group. "Let's just get everyone back and then we can go talk about it in my room."

McGonagall rushed after the group as they headed for the common room. "Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter, I need to speak with you."

Harry walked over to her. "What's going on?"

"I think it's better if we do not discuss this here."

"Alright," He turned back to the group, "I'll see you guys later." He followed McGonagall down the hall. After a few moments, Harry realized that they were headed towards the Headmaster's office.

McGonagall gave the password. Dumbledore and Snape were the only ones in the room.

Dumbledore was the first to notice that McGonagall and Harry had arrived. "Ah, Minerva. I see you were able to catch him." He fixed Harry with a piercing stare. "Harry, do you have any idea what has happened?"

"No, sir. I'm assuming it has something to do with Voldemort, but I didn't see anything if that's what you mean."

"No visions?"

"None. I practiced my occlumency in California and I haven't had any since last March. Every once in a while I'll get a little flash of something, but nothing I can understand." Harry looked at the concerned faces around the room. "Why? What happened?"

"Voldemort has ordered his Death Eaters to kill any members of their families who do not support him."

"Even their children?"

"Yes. The Death Eaters have already began. So far, reports of over fifty deaths have come in."

"So, why did you call me up here?"

"One of the women killed was Narcissa Malfoy."

"Malfoy's mum didn't support Voldemort?"

"No, Harry. She didn't. It is my understanding that Draco has not proclaimed his allegiance to the Dark Lord either."

"What, you think his mum's death is going to change him for the better?"

"Draco was very close to his mother." Snape sneered, "He's more like he's mother then his father, no matter how hard Lucius tried to train the boy to think like him."

"Harry," The Headmaster leaned back and steepled his fingers, "Professor Snape believes that Draco could be convinced to work against his father and Voldemort."

"I'm afraid that my position might be compromised soon. Draco would be a useful spy for the Order, but only if we can get him to come to our side first."

"And you think that if I become friends with him, he'll do that?"

"No, we don't expect you to be friends. If he did end up as a spy for our side, a friendship between you two would just raise too many questions. Just don't start any fights with him. I believe Professor Snape could arrange a way for you two to have a chance to speak."

"I don't think Malfoy will listen to me."

"He'd sooner listen to you than anyone else." Snape stood up from his chair. "He believes that I am a Death Eater, he doesn't trust any of the other Professors and he wouldn't go to the Slytherins about working against the Dark Lord. Besides, I think the year away from his father has given him a new perspective on life. Draco was finally able to make his own friends instead of being forced to be around the children of Death Eaters."

"Well, that was the plan, wasn't it?" Harry smiled at the Headmaster.

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"The Exchange. Making up a way to send Malfoy away from his father and me to a place that could help me train. But of course you had to make it look real, which is why you made it an all school thing."

Dumbledore smiled, "And how long before you realized this?"

"A few months into my year in California. I had been 'mysteriously' signed up for Dueling Club, Occlumency, Muggle Boxing, Sword Fighting and Fencing, Offensive Spells and Introduction to the Dark Arts. It wasn't too hard to figure it out from there."

"Well then, as it seems to have worked for you, it is a good possibility that it worked just as well for Draco."

"Fine. I'll try, but I still don't think it will work."

"I am only asking you to try, Harry. You may return to your common room now." Harry turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing Harry."

"Yes, Professor?"

"If you could keep certain parts of this conversation from Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Specifically portions concerning the death of Mrs. Malfoy."

"Yes, sir." Harry made his way down the steps and towards the Gryffindor dorm. The common room was almost empty when he arrived, only a few of the older students sat by the fire.

He leaned onto the back of the couch, "Do you know where Ron and Hermione are, Neville?"

"They're up in Hermione's room."

"Really?" Harry's eyebrows shot up.

"Ginny is with them."

"Too bad. I was hoping they'd taken that bit of advice you gave them earlier this year." Harry patted his friend's shoulder and walked up the staircase.

Hermione opened the door before he'd even knocked.

"How'd you know I was coming? I didn't think I was that loud."

"You weren't." She pointed to an old mirror hanging on the wall a few steps down. "That mirror is connected to the one in my room. If anyone passes, it shows their image."

"That could be useful. Have you figured out the spell yet?" He walked past her into the room.

"No, I haven't." She sat in a comfortable looking chair, "Speaking of useful spells, Ginny said you used one to send a note to Pete during the attack."

"It's one he and I discovered last year. It's a combination of a telepathy connection spell and a simple transportation spell. Basically, you and the person you want to connect with create identities for yourselves. Mine is Phoenix and Pete's is Alpha. When sending the note, you have to write both of your 'identities' and think of the person when you tap the paper with your wand. The tapping is a bit unnecessary, but it helps keep down the amount of magical strain. It's fairly easy to perform, I'll teach it to you."

"It might be helpful to communicate with each other."

"We could use it to pass notes in class."

"That's very constructive, Ron."

"I meant educational notes, Hermione."

"Of course you did." She said skeptically as he got up off the couch and sat on the arm of the chair. Ron leaned over to kiss her.

Ginny and Harry watched as the small peck turned into a fierce snog.

"Ugh, they've been doing this for the past half hour." Ginny grimaced.

"So..." Harry turned away from his two best friends, "Want to know what's going on?"

"Sure, anything to get that image out of my head." She noticed the solemn look in his eyes. "What is it?"

"Old Tom has ordered his lackeys to kill anyone in their families who don't support him. Not just husbands and wives, but parents, siblings and children as well." Ron and Hermione were still in the chair, somehow Hermione had ended up on Ron's lap.

"Won't that make a few of his supporters rethink their alliances?"

"You would think so. But there's already been over fifty deaths already. And those are just the ones the Ministry knows of. Is this what happened all last year?" He pointed at the two in the chair.

"If you take out time spent sleeping, eating and going to classes. And then of course the time they spent fighting... yes, this happened quite a bit. So what is the Order doing?"

"Nothing right now. I don't think there's anything they can do. No one really knows who will be killed. The Death Eaters don't exactly go around advertising which members of their families aren't loyal to their Lord. How long has it been since they took a breath?"

"Four and a half minutes. Their record is eleven. Who are some of the ones who have already been killed?"

"Eleven? How is that possible. Dumbledore didn't give me any names."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, watching Ron and Hermione.

"I've only managed seven." Harry said.

"Seven what?"

"Minutes."

"That's not too bad. Who with?"

"Elena."

"Really?"

"We were at a party, I had had a little bit to drink."

"You drank? I'm shocked."

"Why? Because Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived isn't allowed to do anything bad?"

"Yes."

"Want to know another shocking anecdote?"

"Why not, we've got time." She motioned to her brother. "So..."

"I took up smoking for a few months."

"Cigarettes? I thought those were addictive."

"Not as much for us. The ingredient that makes them addictive is counter-acted by our magic. The risk for cancer is almost non existent as well."

"Why?"

"Remus. His death sort of put me over the edge."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't gotten a letter concerning Sirius' estate right before the one announcing Remus' death. I'd actually put Sirius to the back of my mind, hadn't thought about his death for at least a month." He nervously rubbed his wrist. "Are those two ever going to stop?"

"No. Not unless something happens to get their attention." She looked at him and saw a playful glint in his green eyes. "Oh no. I know that look Harry Potter. You're thinking of a plan, aren't you?"

"Of course, but only if you agree to go along with it." He whispered his idea to her.

"I don't know..."

"He's not going to kill me. It takes too long to break in a new best friend."

"Alright."

----------

Less than a minute later, Ron's angry voice could be heard throughout the Gryffindor dorms.

"Harry Potter! You get off of my sister right now! I'm going to kill you, Potter! I don't know where you got the idea you could snog my baby sister!"


	5. An Enlightening Detention

"Potter!" Harry looked up into the sneering face of the Potions master.

"Did you just ask me something?" He leaned back and crossed his arms. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Obviously." Snape looked like he'd just caught a whiff of something nasty. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor, and detention tomorrow night."

Harry glared at him. He knew the detention was coming. It was the only way to get Malfoy and him in the same room together. But he wasn't expecting Snape to take off points too.

"Do you have something to say, Potter?"

"Nothing you haven't already heard."

Snape gave him another calculating look before returning to the front of the room. And began talking about the effects of the Wolfsbane potion. That's was why Harry hadn't been paying attention. After a few years of seeing Remus take it, Harry pretty much knew everything the Professor was saying.

For Harry, the next hour dragged on for days. When Snape finally dismissed them, after assigning a two foot essay, he was the first one out of the room.

"Harry! Wait up, mate!" Ron and Hermione came up behind him. "Why were you so out of it today?"

"I don't know. I just couldn't pay attention for some reason." Harry shrugged and the Trio started walking towards the stairs.

"Well, I'm not going to let either of you copy my essay."

"Don't worry, Hermione." Harry and Ron turned to go to Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione had dropped it so she would be able to focus on her NEWT classes. "Just because I zoned out doesn't mean I don't know anything about Wolfsbane. Between what I did hear Snape say and what I learned from Remus, I think I'll be fine."

"Alright. I'll see you both in Transfiguration."

The boys strolled across the grounds to Hagrid's hut. It was a cold day in mid November and the class had just finished with Chimeras.

It had taken so long because Hagrid had thought that they would be able to actually interact with the beasts. He hadn't gotten permission from Dumbledore and all his lesson plans were centered around feedings and caring for the Chimera. They'd spent the last month watching the animals walk around in their cage and taking notes on their behavior.

Ten minutes after class had started, Hagrid still hadn't arrived.

Seamus turned around to face Ron. "Do ya know where 'agrid is? 'e's never been this late before."

Ron opened his mouth to say that he didn't know, but he was cut off by a drawling voice.

"The big oaf probably got himself killed by one of those beasts."

"Shut it, Malfoy." Harry stood. "Believe it or not, Hagrid actually knows how to handle those beasts. You'd pay attention if you knew what was good for you."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing. But I'm sure Buckbeak would be glad to."

Malfoy pulled his wand out of his pocket.

"Malfoy!" Hagrid's voice rumbled across the grounds. "Put the wand away. That's detention tomorrow fer attackin' another student."

Draco looked as if he was about to protest but thought better of it and sat down instead. He mumbled something to Pansy, who giggled.

"Hagrid?"

"Yeah, Neville?"

"What are we starting today? You said we were done with the Chimeras…"

"Right. What do yer all know about Acromantulas?"

Harry laughed at the look on Ron's face.

"He's kidding, right?"

"I don't think so. Does Hagrid even know how to kid?"

Ron just groaned and lay his head down on the table.

"No one?" Hagrid was looking out hopefully into the class.

After a few seconds, Harry decided to bail his friend out. "They're giant spiders. Live mostly in the woods in large colonies. They're carnivores, especially enjoy human meat. Oh, and they're afraid of Basilisks."

"And how do you know all of that, Potter? You ever seen one?" Pansy sneered at him.

"Actually, yes. There's a colony of them living in the Forbidden Forest. They almost ate Ron and me in second year."

Hagrid looked shocked. "They tried ter eat ya? Aragog told me he'd met you, but he didn't say anything about… Well, never mind."

Lavender raised her hand. "Who's Aragog?"

"He's the leader of the colony in the Forest. Aragog has agreed ter come ter class, but he won't be here for a little while. He'll be bringin' a few of his children with him. Fer right now, I want ya ter get out yer books and read up on 'em. There's quite a few pages in there about the Acromantulas so ya better git started."

They'd all been reading for awhile when there was a commotion from the edge of the forest. A few people gasped as Aragog came into view.

Harry leaned over to Ron. "What, they thought I was joking when I said they were giant spiders?"

Ron whimpered and his grip on his book tightened. The book didn't like being squeezed too much, so it bit him. Ron dropped the book, which hid under his chair, and began sucking on the bite.

The Acromantula stopped in front of Hagrid. Between the clicking noises the class could hear him greet their professor.

"Hello, Hagrid. I have brought my children along with me." The somewhat smaller spiders began sniffing at the closer desks. They had never encountered a human other than Hagrid before. All of the students backed away from them.

"There's no need to be afraid, they won't hurt ya." The students ignored Hagrid and continued to press backwards.

"They w-won't h-hurt us?" Neville stammered, "Harry j-just said th-they tried to k-k-kill him and R-Ron."

"Err… yes, he did." Hagrid scratched his beard. "I'm sure it was a mistake, right Aragog? You didn' try ter kill 'arry or Ron, did ya?"

The clicking began again. "Harryoron? Who is this Harryoron?"

Harry stood; Ron still had a death grip on his desk. "I'm Harry, and this is Ron. We accidentally walked into your colony five years ago. When the Chamber of Secrets was opened again."

"Ah, yes. I do remember. You asked us about the creature that lived in the Chamber." Aragog's many eyes squinted at him. "The centaurs speak of you often."

Everyone was looking at Harry, though a few kept casting weary glances at Aragog's children.

Hagrid drew their attention back, "Let's git started. Ya all have yer books out, so turn back to that first page there."

The rest of the class was spent studying the Acromantulas. There was quite a bit in the book that, according to Aragog, wasn't true. Eventually, many of the students relaxed around the spiders enough to talk with them. The Gryffindor boys, except for Ron, had a long conversation with a male. He seemed to be about their age in mentality, if not in years.

Ron still hadn't gotten out of his seat. He'd already been quite close enough to the spiders and didn't want to repeat that experience. The class ended in commotion as everyone hurriedly put away their books.

Harry had to sprint to keep up with Ron on the way back up to the castle.

----------

The boys had just sat down to dinner when a small, tawny owl dropped a letter on Harry's plate. He picked it up and immediately noticed the Hogwarts crest stamped onto the back. Ripping it open, he scanned the page.

"Who's it from?" Ron asked from behind his already overflowing plate.

"Uh… Ministry." He lied. It was actually from McGonagall, asking him to come to her office directly after dinner.

"What do they want?"

"Oh, it's just…" Harry struggled to think of something convincing. "It's just something about Sirius and Remus' estates. That's all."

Ron didn't ask any more questions. Everyone knew that Harry wasn't still depressed about his godfather's death. You only had to take one look at him to see that.

Ron had been the one to break the news of Remus' demise to him. He still had the letter Harry had written him in response. After reading it, throwing the paper away hadn't been an option. Harry's next letter had been a normal one. No watermarks made by tears or angry words screaming up from the page, just regular Harry.

The emerald-eyed boy quickly ate and stood from the table. "I've got to go see McGonagall about this. I'll meet you back in the common room later."

"Remember we've got to that Potions essay to write!" Ron called after him, spraying an extremely displeased Dean with mashed potatoes.

Harry knocked on his head of house's office door.

"Come in." Came a voice from inside, Harry walked in. "Oh, Mr. Potter. I see you got my letter."

"Yes, I did. What did you need to talk about?"

"Your detention tomorrow. You'll be serving it with Snape."

_Snape! Why couldn't it be someone else?_ Harry thought grimly. _Hell, I'd even take Trelawney predicting my death for an hour over him._

"Draco Malfoy will also be there, as you probably already guessed." Harry nodded. "I was hoping you had thought about what you were going to say to him."

"I've thought about it, but I really don't know what I'm going to end up talking about."

"Well, I suggest you do that before your detention. This is an opportunity the Order cannot afford to miss."

"I know." He massaged his forehead. "I'll figure it out, Professor."

"Very well then, you may go back to Gryffindor tower now. Good night, Mr. Potter."

"Good night, Professor." Harry closed the door behind him and walked quickly to the dorm. He'd have to get started on that essay right away if he wanted to have time to think about tomorrow's detention.

----------

The next day passed by exceedingly slow for Harry. The last class of the day before dinner was History of Magic. Professor Binns seemed even more boring than usual.

Harry tried to eat his dinner as normal as possible, but it apparently wasn't enough to fool his two best friends.

Hermione was staring at him as he fidgeted. "Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, you almost look like you want to get to detention."

"I'm fine. I guess I just want this night over with. Snape wasn't in a very good mood this morning." He smiled at them. "Dealing with that is going to be slightly less fun than getting bitten by a shark. Throw Malfoy into the mix and… well…" He made an explosion sound.

"Oh, it won't be that bad, Harry. Except for yesterday, Malfoy hasn't really said anything to any of us for awhile."

"Yeah, well. It's still Snape and Malfoy. Good luck with that, mate."

Harry gulped; he didn't like lying to his friends. Especially when those friends were Ron and Hermione. It was necessary though. The Headmaster had made him promise not to say anything about what was going on.

Ten minutes to seven o'clock, he stood up and said good bye to the rest of the Gryffindors. He noticed that Malfoy was still sitting and eating his food. _That's because he knows Snape won't take off any points._

Harry arrived at the dungeons with a few minutes to spare. He went in and took a seat. Snape came in from the supply closet and nodded when he saw Harry. They both heard footsteps in the hallway.

"I see that the exchange program wasn't a total waste, Potter." The Potions Master's voice was filled with contempt. "At least you acquired some sense of time."

Malfoy stepped into the room.

"Ah, Draco." Snape looked at his watch. "Only a minute late, excusable."

Harry glared at his professor vehemently.

"You two will be cleaning the floor of stains. Without magic of course." He picked up a stack of parchment from his desk. "I will be in my office." Snape made eye contact with Harry again before he left the room.

Harry went over to the buckets by the desk and picked up a brush. Malfoy hadn't moved, so he grabbed a washcloth as well and threw it at the blonde boy.

Draco caught it and glared at the smirking teen in front of him. "What?"

"Nothing, I just figured you'd run away from that." He pointed the brush at the cloth in Malfoy's hand. "I wasn't even sure anyone in your family knew what a washcloth was. You Malfoys wouldn't want to dirty your hands, now would you?"

"Shut up, Potter. You don't know anything about my family."

"I know enough."

"Really?" He walked past Harry and picked up a bucket of cleaning solution and took it over to one of the larger stains. Harry noticed it was under Neville's desk. "Why don't you regale me with what you know?"

"Well, your father is a murderous bastard who tries to make you exactly like him. And your mother was a surprisingly nice woman who actually attempted to instill at least a bit of character in you."

Draco glared at him, "What makes you think you can… Wait, you said my mother 'was', but how did you…?"

"I heard about what happened." Harry got down next to him and started scrubbing at the spot. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"You're sorry?" Malfoy laughed. "Great, now I have the Boy-Who-Lived feeling bad for me."

"Yeah, well I have a slight idea of what you're going through." He said sarcastically.

Draco was about to retort but thought better of it. He remembered as well as anyone what had happened in the Department of Mysteries. He'd also heard about Lupin. "You tell anyone and I'll make sure you regret it, Potter." He growled.

"I've known since the day it happened and I haven't told anyone yet." He saw the doubt in Malfoy's grey eyes. "I swear, not even Ron or Hermione. Scout's Honor." He held up his hand.

Draco looked confused. "Scout's Honor?"

"Muggle thing." Harry shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sorry about your mum. I know it's a tough thing to go through." They moved over to the next stain. It wasn't as dark as the first one.

"Of course, The Great Orphaned Harry Potter knows all about the death of a parent."

"I wasn't really talking about my mum and dad. To be honest, I don't really remember them." He was a little uncomfortable about sharing all of this with Malfoy, but he figured it would get the other boy to open up. "Mrs. Weasley has pretty much been my mum since first year. And then there was Sirius and Remus."

"Sirius Black? I know he was your godfather, but he betrayed your parents."

"No he didn't. Everyone thought he was my parent's secret keeper, but" Harry shook his head, his eyes darkened. "He wasn't. It was Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew, I thought he was dead."

"Everyone did. But he was an unregistered Animagius and he transformed into a rat. He hid as the Weasley's pet until Sirius escaped back in third year."

"That filthy thing that the Weasel brought with him was Pettigrew?" Draco asked with disgust.

"Yes. He escaped at the end of third year though and returned to Voldemort." Harry scrubbed at the spot a little harder. "He was the one who resurrected Voldemort in fourth year."

"Hold on. You're telling me that Peter Pettigrew and that sniveling excuse for a human being[1] Wormtail are…"

"One and the same. The Dark Lord was brought back to life by a wizard who was almost a squib."

"Ugh. That's depressing." Draco threw the rag into the bucket. "My father actually thinks fairly highly of Wormtail. Says he did an honorable thing by sacrificing his hand for the sake of his master." His words were saturated with ridicule. The two boys moved across the room to another large stain.

"Sounds like you don't agree with him."

"Of course not! Wormtail is an imbecile who has barely enough brain power to function properly. I don't know why the Dark Lord continues to give him important tasks." Malfoy set the bucket down and kneeled next to it. "Ugh, I hate cleaning the muggle way." He grumbled before squeezing the excess water out of the washcloth. "Besides, I don't have to agree with my father on everything. Then he wouldn't have any excuse to hate me." Draco smirked and looked up. "I'm telling you, Potter. You haven't really tested the boundaries of mortality until you've gotten Lucius Malfoy royally pissed off."

Harry laughed. An idea hit him, he just didn't know if it would work the way he wanted it to. "You know what would really piss him off?"

"Ooh. Potter's got a plan." Draco mocked. "What is it?"

"Don't follow him."

"What do you mean?" He said suspiciously.

"Don't take the mark. He'd not only be mad, he'd also be embarrassed."

"Good idea, but what makes you think I haven't already taken it?"

"Because your mum wouldn't have allowed it while she was alive, and you haven't been outside the school since she died." Draco was glaring at him. "And then of course there's the fact that, if you were a Death Eater, you would have tried to kill me the second I started making fun of Voldemort."

Draco didn't answer but got to work on the last big stain. The two worked in silence as they finished the floors. Harry put the cleaning supplies back where they'd found them and they went into Snape's office.

"You're finished?" He left to check their work and returned a moment later. "Very well, you may leave." He waved them away.

Draco immediately turned towards the Slytherin common room.

"Malfoy, wait a second." Harry dug into his bag and took out a small, green book. "Here."

"What is it?"

"It's a journal."

"Thanks Potter." Draco drawled. "But as much as I want to know all the details of your life, I'll pass."

"It's blank, you git." Harry sighed; he knew he'd have to explain. "When I got to California, the, err, Headmaster wouldn't let me start classes until I'd gotten over being depressed. I tried a lot of different things and none of them worked. Eventually one of the guys in my house gave me a journal and told me to 'write down whatever the hell was bugging me'. So I did, I have a book just like this filled with everything I could remember about Sirius. It worked, I even did one about my parents but it's not as full." He shrugged. "I have one for Remus too."

Draco was looking at the journal skeptically.

"Just take it. You don't have to write if you don't want to. It's not like I can force you to, but it helps. Trust me."

Malfoy took the book and smirked at Harry. "Trust you? Right."

----------

One hour later, Draco Malfoy lay staring up at the ceiling of his dorm room. Vincent and Gregory snored on either side of him and he could hear Nott's slow breaths coming from the other side of the room. Usually, Blaise's strangely wheezy snores would be added to the mix, but he had been appointed Head Boy and now had his own room.

Draco, however, found it hard to sleep. Even more so then he had after hearing of his mother's death at the hands of his father. So the restless boy did what he always did when he couldn't sleep.

He argued with himself.

**_Who does Potter think he is? _******

_Maybe he's just trying to be helpful?_

The two voices in his head began battling with each other. Draco had noticed long ago that the one that always spoke first, and came up with the most Slytherin-like arguments, sounded a lot like Lucius. And the more reasonable one, the one that like to see the best side of things, often sounded like Narcissa.

**_Right, a Potter trying to be helpful. Well that would just break the mold now wouldn't it?_**

_What is that supposed to mean? The Potters have always helped others…___

**_That is precisely what that means! Who made it the Potter's business to poke their noses into other people's problems?_**

_At least someone is trying to help, no one else seems to really care about what's going on._

**_They've all got their own problems to deal with. Who cares about them anyway? Worry about myself and myself will get along fine. Worry about others and all you've got are others coming to you for help._**

_They only come when they need it.___

**_Now YOU sound like a Potter! Why is helping people even under discussion here?_**

_Because the Potters do it.___

**_Screw the Potters! They should keep their minds on their own damn business. What gives him the right to talk about my family that way?! And giving me that stupid journal to 'write down my feelings'… Psychologist Potter to the rescue._**

_Maybe he had a point?_

**_About what exactly?_**

_That journal… maybe it would help?_

**_Yeah, right. A diary is going to help me now._**

_You could try it._

**_I don't think so._**

_Why not?___

**_It's filled with Potter's goodness and light and will possess me and make me to good things._**

_I find that highly unlikely.___

**_Why? I could see Potter doing something like that._**

_Really? You could see the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, putting himself into a diary exactly the way You-Know-Who did with his? I mean, sure, the Dark Lord did it to preserve his spirit, which isn't exactly 'goodness and light' as you put it. But still, I don't think Potter would do that…___

**_I bet he did something to the book._**

_Oh, stop it. Seriously, besides your possession theory, what's the worst that could happen? That you'd try it, it would work and then you wouldn't be able to hate him anymore because he actually helped you? Wow, that would be a shame…___

For once, 'Lucius' didn't have a response.

"Fine." Draco grumbled and leaned over the side of his bed to get the journal. He found it under his shirt, which was lying on the floor with his other clothes. Surprisingly, Draco Malfoy actually enjoyed a bit of clutter around the room.

Sitting back up, he grabbed his wand off the side table and summoned a quill from his bag. He then drew the curtains closed and cast a silencing spell. Draco knew Vincent and Gregory could sleep through anything, but Nott was a very light sleeper.

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to write?" He said out loud to no one. "Okay, okay. Memories of my mother… memories of my mother." He tapped the quill against his lip, fully aware of the fact that he was getting ink all over himself.

After a few minutes of thinking, Draco decided to start at the earliest memory and work chronologically.

He pushed himself up into a more comfortable sitting position and opened the book. A piece of parchment fell out of it.

Confused, he picked up the paper and unfolded it. It looked like a note. Even though it didn't have a signature, Draco knew who it was from. He'd copied enough notes to recognize the scrawling script anywhere. "Potter."__

_Malfoy_

_I know you don't want sympathy, so I won't give it to you. But I am sorry. I may have had to deal with a lot in my life, but nothing like what you're going through right now._

_There are really only two things in this life I am sure of. What a man can do, and what a man can't do. ([2])_

_For instance, I can either agree to fight Voldemort and possibly die trying to defeat him, or I can walk away and make this war everyone else's problem. But I can't sit by and do nothing as people continue to die. I may have already made my decision, but you have a different choice to make._

_You can either follow your father and become a Death Eater, or you can work against him and join the Order of the Phoenix. But you can't sit in the middle._

_So what will it be? Becoming a minion of a man who wants to rid the world of muggle borns and half-bloods while he himself is a half-blood? Or helping defeat him and saving a few innocent people while you're at it (not to mention having the ultimate opportunity for revenge on your mother's murderer)?_

Draco just stared at the paper in front of him. He reread it three more times before putting it aside and staring at the open journal. At the top of the first page was the name 'Narcissa Malfoy' printed in a flowing script.

"Scopata." ([3])

----------

McGonagall held Harry back after class two weeks following his detention with Snape.

"I don't know how you did it, Mr. Potter." She said after closing the door and casting a silencing charm on the room.

"Did what, Professor?"

"Draco Malfoy has just spoken to the Headmaster about becoming a spy for the Order."

"He has?" Harry was as shocked as she was. He hadn't really expected what he'd said to work.

"Yes. Whatever you did convinced him. He'll be officially made a part of the Order a few days before the holidays. This must also remain a secret."

"Why so soon?"

"Lucius Malfoy has sent word to his son that he plans on taking Draco to receive the Dark Mark Christmas morning."

"Happy Christmas." Harry mumbled.

* * *

[1] Quiz time! Can anyone tell me what this line is from? Anyone?  
[2] Quiz time 2! What about this line?  
[3] According to my translator, this means 'fuck' in Italian. 


	6. Apology to the Readers

Dear Readers,

I recently received a review that asked if I was planning on ever updating, which is what prompted me to write this. I'm sorry to say that I don't know when I'm going to be able to update this story. I have recently starting my freshman year of college; so much of my time is spent studying and going to class. Aside from the time constraints, I've also had quite a bit of trouble with keeping a reliable beta reader. My first simply stopped after finishing the prologue, and the second hasn't responded since an email I got from her over 5 months ago regarding the fact that she was in the middle of the Florida flooding. So, as you can see, there have been a few problems.

However, I am certainly not trying to make any excuses. At the beginning of this project, I told myself that I was not going to become one of the people that writes half of a story and then leaves it hanging. But, unfortunately, I seem to have done just that. Originally this was meant to be finished by September of 2004, or even October at the latest. Obviously, it didn't work out the way I'd planned it.

As of right now, there are 5 uploaded chapters. I have a total of 11 planned, including the Prologue and the Epiloge. Besides the ones that are already uploaded, I have also finished writing chapters 7, 8, 9 and the Epiloge. It's only chapter 5 and 6 that still need to be written, and I do have them outlined already. Looking at the outlines now, I may in fact be splitting chapter 5 into two parts, giving you an extra chapter. But writing it is the first of my concerns right now.

I am hoping that I will eventually have the time to continue this story. But for now I am sorry to say that I must call a hiatus. If all goes well, I should be able to restart in June, although it is entirely possible that an update could happen even earlier than that.

Thank you so much for your understanding, and I hope you will all be back when I do find that I have the time, the resources and the inspiration to update again.

Sincerely,  
Angela  
(butwhystherumgone)


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